American Constitution
Completed on September 12, 1787, and later ratified by special conventions in each of the original thirteen American colonies, the Constitution of the United States represents the supreme law of the United States of America and is the oldest comprehensive written constitution still in force and has served as a model for a number of constitutions around the world. It created a more unified government in place of what was then a group of independent states operating under the Articles of Confederation.
The Constitution owes its staying power to its simplicity and flexibility. Originally designed to provide a framework for governing 4 million people in 13 very different states along America's Atlantic coast, its basic provisions were so soundly conceived that, with only 27 amendments, it now serves the needs of more than 260 million Americans in 50 even more diverse states that stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.