Catechism of Constitution Sprague' Journal of Maine History Volume 9, No. 1 1921 Published by John Francis Sprague Dover, Maine page 40 CATECHISM OF CONSTITUTION (Published by arrangement with the National Security League.) LESSON I Q. What is the Constitution? A. The Constitution is a written document providing a form of government for the United State. Q. Who framed the Constitution? A. Representatives of the people in Philadelphia in 1787. Q. Who was the President of the Constitutional Convention? A. George Washington. Q. What made the Constitution necessary? A. The Articles of Confederation, which preceded the Con- stitution, were inadequate to hold the States together. Q. Why was the Constitution adopted? A. The preamble of the Constitution declares that "we, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the com- mon defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United State of America." Q. How as the Constitution Ratified? A. By the people of the United States, acting through special conventions, "chosen in each State by the people thereof." Q. When did it become effective? A. On the first Wednesday in March, 1789. (c) 1998 Courtesy of the Androscoggin Historical Society ************************************************* * * * * NOTICE: Printing the files within by noncommercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. * * * * The USGenWeb Project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. It is always best to consult the original material for verification.