Homage to the origin of India’s constitution – the American constitution; the first-ever written constitution of the world

As an Indian, you should be proud of the fact that the Indian Constitution is our land’s supreme rule-book that lays down clear-cut instructions on how to carry out the smooth governance of our country. Before Independence, it was the British who drafted and enacted the acts (the last act made by them was the Government of India Act, 1935) on behalf of the Indian public. However, do you know that the many features of our constitution were inspired by the constitutions of other countries?

• The Preamble to our Constitution was inspired by the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America. Both constitutions starts with "We the people".
• The concept of FYP (Five Year Plans) was taken from the USSR.
• The DPSP or Directive Principles of State Policy (socio-economic rights) were taken from Ireland.
• The tenets of Equality, Liberty and Fraternity mentioned in the Preamble are a French constitutional motto from the time of the French Revolution.
• The nine fundamental rights have been adopted from the American Constitution.

Now, you must be wondering about who or which country originally inspired us to make the constitution? It is the United States of America!

The US constitution is the oldest document of its kind and was the first-ever official written document to establish basic rights and laws for citizens of a nation/country. It was signed on September 17, 1787 and has since then been recognized as a symbol of freedom for Americans from oppression and racial bias. Norway’s constitution is the second-oldest signed in May 1814, followed by Netherlands’s constitution signed in March 1815.

Quick Facts about the US Constitution

• It was written in the Pennsylvania State House which is known as the Independence Hall since the Declaration of Independence was also signed there. The Independence Hall is situated in the Independence Mall in Philadelphia looking over the National Constitution Center.
• It took roughly one hundred days to complete and was prepared in total secrecy, behind locked doors to avoid any media attention and public outcry.
• It is only 4,400 words long which makes it the shortest written constitution ever. With the amendments and signatures, it has 7,591 words only – making it just 5 pages long! It has only seven articles and 27 amendments whereas the Indian Constitution has 395 articles and 94 amendments which makes the latter the longest written constitution of the world.
• Most of it is written in English, though there is a little Latin too. ‘Pro tempore’, ‘ex post facto’, and ‘habeas corpus’ are the three Latin phrases that appear in the Constitution.
• The original Constitution is displayed since 1952 at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. During the Japanese bombing of the Pearl Harbor, it was moved to Fort Knox for safekeeping. It is now preserved in a special weather-proof case that has argon gas maintained at 67 degrees Fahrenheit to protect the fragile and old parchment paper it was written on.
• It does not have the word “democracy” or “God” in it.
• Till date, more than 11,000 amendments have been proposed to the document, out of which 500 were made to just get rid of the Electoral College. Only 27 have been approved so far in American history.
• The longest period in which no changes were made to the US constitution was from 1804 to 1865 (61 years).
• It contains an incorrect word (Article 1, Section 10 uses “it’s” when it should be “its”).
• It was originally signed on September 17th and ratified June 21, 1788. Of the first 13 states, only Rhode Island didn’t have any representation during its drafting and signing. It was the last state to ratify it (minimum 9 states were needed for this).
• John Shallus, a clerk working for the Pennsylvania General Assembly is the person who physically wrote the entire Constitution on parchment paper. The Constitutional Convention paid him $30 for this job.
• The first national “Thanksgiving Day” commemorated on November 26, 1789, was originally created by the-then US President George Washington as a way of “giving thanks” to the nation and its makers for the Constitution.

Founding Fathers of the US constitution

• James Madison is widely considered as the “Father of the US Constitution”. This is mainly because he attended all the Constitutional meetings, took notes and kept them in a journal which was discovered only after his death. The journal was published in 1840.
• Alexander Hamilton was the first to convince Congress for holding a Constitutional Convention so that the Articles of Confederation could be amended.
• The wording is attributed to Gouverneur Morris.
• Madison and Hamilton persuaded the public to help ratify the document after the Constitution was signed in a series of essays known as “The Federalist” to help people understand the new system.
• A total of 39 delegates signed the US constitution. Benjamin Franklin was the oldest person to sign it at 81 years of age. Jonathon Dayton was the youngest at 26.
• Only two future Presidents of the USA signed the Constitution - George Washington and James Madison.
• Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Hancock Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, though considered as Founding Fathers, were not present during the signing of the Constitution. Jefferson did not sign it because he was serving as a Minister to France then. John Adams didn’t sign because he was an ambassador to Great Britain then.
• Four of the Constitution’s signers weren’t born in America; they were originally from Ireland.

Timeline of the US constitution

• 1781: The first and original U.S. Constitution was known as the Articles of Confederation (coming together of all US States as a nation) which gave the Congress powers to manage currency, declare war and conduct foreign affairs. Since each state operated independently under these articles, the Congress had limited power to enforce these requests.
• 1783: America frees itself from Great Britain (the American Revolution).
• 1786: Since the war was over, America needed a structured and stable government to function. This is when a politician and lawyer called Alexander Hamilton proposed to the Congress to hold a constitutional meeting for seeking a solution.
• February, 1787: The Congress obliges and invites 13 state delegates to meet at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
• May, 1787: The Constitutional Convention was attended by 55 delegates of which 34 were lawyers. George Washington was elected president of this convention by a majority vote. Though the convention was intended to make amends to the Articles of Confederation, the delegates instead proposed to form a new type of government that would have three branches to ensure checks and balances that ensures a befitting balance of power in the country.
• September 17, 1787: After a lot deliberation and thought, the Constitution document gets completed and was officially signed by 39 delegates. 3 delegates dissented to sign it due to the lacking Bill of Rights. Some delegates were absent during the signing. Finally, for the document to come into effect, it needed to be approved by at least 9 of the 13 states.
• December 7, 1787: New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Georgia and Pennsylvania ratified the document (now known as the Constitution of the USA).
• February, 1788: South Carolina, Massachusetts, and Maryland also assent.
• 1788: The Constitution finally gets ratified when New Hampshire (9th state to ratify) gives its assent.
• March 4, 1789: The Constitution comes into force.
• April 30, 1789: George Washington is officially inaugurated as independent America’s first President (POTUS).
• November 26, 1789: The First national Thanksgiving Day announced by George Washington as a way of giving “thanks” to the Constitution.
• 1789: New York and Virginia also ratify the Constitution.
• February 2, 1790: The U.S. Supreme Court holds its first meeting.
• May 29, 1790: Rhode Island ratifies the Constitution and is the last of 13 states to do so.
• December 15, 1791: The Bill of Rights (giving more freedom to individuals such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc.) is amended into the Constitution. A total of 10 amendments were made to the document.

The Constitution’s Impact in the US and the World

“We the People”, which are the Constitution’s opening words, are a precedent for the constitutions of many countries (including India) which has helped democratic nations give more importance to the voice of the people. Not only did it play an extremely critical part in the two centuries of U.S. history, but it also helped the individuals to know their rights and freedoms through a clear-cut fundamental document which clearly defines, protects and empowers the democratic government system and the people it governs.

The U.S. population at the time of signing of the Constitution was 4 million and is today around 314 million. It is due to this document that many naturalized US citizens of the country are part of this population strength after being welcomed into the country as a US citizen.

Principles of the rule of law and recognition of individual rights was a major influence in the developing democracies of the world at that time. Moreover, it helped many countries to successfully diverge from colonial rule and reach an inflection point when it came to limiting the powers of autocrats and law-givers by the formation of a parliament. Many passages and phrases from the U.S. Constitution have helped other nations learn governance and set provisions for federalism, the executives and seek judicial review in cases of national interest.

Innovative concepts like a written constitution, ratification and amendment of laws have largely inspired citizens to know what to demand from their governments. Though many non-democratic nations preferred to adopt the British or French models during their shift to democracy, the US constitution also helped in a certain way as a guideline and way of life.

In summation, studies have shown that the U.S. Constitution guarantees very few rights as compared to the more elaborate and discreet constitutions of other countries and its law for the right to keep and bear arms is still a major dispute. The Constitution of Canada (revised in 1982) is the global leader as a constitution reference model, but considering the fact that the United States gave the very notion of a ‘constitution’, its contribution to the world should never be forgotten.

Currently, the US constitution which is more than 225 years old widely considered as the founding document that led to the fall of many emperors, feudal lords, czars, tribal chieftains and kings who dominated our planet. Democracies existed in Greek and Italian city-states, but they were long gone before the American Revolution. The British House of Commons was still somehow under the Queen, and this is when the US constitution helped the world discover true democracy. Let us never forget that as citizens of a democratic nation that is was the USA which gave us the idea of a written constitution!