There are seven articles in the U.S. Constitution. Each one sets up a different piece of the federal government: the first three create the legislative, executive, and judicial branches; the next three cover how states relate to each other, how the document can be changed, and which laws take precedence; and the seventh explains how the Constitution was originally ratified.
The Seven Articles at a Glance
- Article I — Creates Congress and lists its powers.
- Article II — Creates the presidency and the executive branch.
- Article III — Creates the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary.
- Article IV — Governs relations between the states.
- Article V — Sets the process for amending the Constitution.
- Article VI — Declares federal law supreme and requires oaths of office.
- Article VII — Set the terms for ratifying the Constitution in 1788.
The document was signed on September 17, 1787, and ratified the following year, replacing the earlier Articles of Confederation with a stronger central government built around three separate branches.
Article I: Congress
Article I is the longest of the seven. It creates Congress, splits it into the Senate and the House of Representatives, and spells out qualifications, election procedures, and internal rules for each chamber.1Congress.gov. Article I Legislative Branch The Framers gave the legislature more space than any other branch because they expected it to be the primary engine of federal power.
Section 8 lists the specific powers Congress can exercise, including collecting taxes, borrowing money, regulating commerce with foreign nations and between the states, coining money, establishing post offices, and declaring war.2Congress.gov. Article I Section 8 It closes with the Necessary and Proper Clause, sometimes called the Elastic Clause, which lets Congress pass laws that help carry out its listed powers even if those specific laws aren’t spelled out anywhere in the Constitution.3Congress.gov. Overview of Necessary and Proper Clause
Article II: The Presidency
Article II places executive power in a single President. It creates the Electoral College, sets the four-year term, and lists eligibility requirements including being a natural-born citizen and at least 35 years old.4Congress.gov. Overview of Article II, Executive Branch
The President serves as Commander in Chief of the armed forces, negotiates treaties (subject to Senate approval), and appoints federal judges and other officers. Section 3 requires the President to ensure that federal laws are faithfully carried out. Article II also provides for removal through impeachment by the House and conviction by the Senate for treason, bribery, or other serious offenses.
Article III: The Federal Courts
Article III creates the Supreme Court and gives Congress authority to establish lower federal courts. Federal judges hold their positions “during good Behaviour,” which in practice means they serve for life unless they resign, retire, or are impeached. Their salaries cannot be reduced while they serve, a protection designed to insulate them from political pressure.5Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Article III
The article also defines federal court jurisdiction, which covers cases arising under the Constitution and federal law, disputes between states, and cases involving foreign ambassadors. The power to strike down laws that conflict with the Constitution (judicial review) isn’t written into Article III itself; the Supreme Court established it early in the nation’s history.
Article IV: The States
Article IV addresses how states interact with each other and with the federal government. The Full Faith and Credit Clause requires every state to honor the court judgments, public records, and legal proceedings of every other state.6Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Article IV A divorce finalized in one state is valid in all 50.
Section 2 adds two more protections. The Privileges and Immunities Clause prevents states from discriminating against residents of other states on fundamental rights like earning a living, though a state can still limit voting or certain public benefits to its own residents.7Congress.gov. Overview of Privileges and Immunities Clause The Extradition Clause requires that a person charged with a crime in one state who flees to another be returned to face the charges.8Congress.gov. Article IV Section 2 Clause 2
Article IV also empowers Congress to admit new states and guarantees every state a republican form of government, meaning representative self-governance. The federal government is obligated to protect each state against invasion and, when asked, against domestic unrest.
Article V: How Amendments Work
Article V sets the rules for changing the Constitution, and those rules are deliberately difficult. An amendment can be proposed in one of two ways: two-thirds of both the House and Senate vote in favor, or two-thirds of state legislatures request a national convention. The convention method has never been successfully used.9Congress.gov. Article V – Amending the Constitution
After proposal, ratification requires approval from three-fourths of the states, either through their legislatures or through specially called ratifying conventions. Congress decides which method applies.10National Archives. Article V, U.S. Constitution The supermajority requirements at both stages are why only 27 amendments have been ratified in more than two centuries.
Article VI: Supremacy and Oaths
Article VI contains the Supremacy Clause, which declares that the Constitution, federal laws made under it, and treaties entered into by the United States are collectively the “supreme Law of the Land.” Judges in every state are bound by that hierarchy, and any conflicting state law loses.11Congress.gov. Overview of Supremacy Clause Treaties sit alongside federal statutes in that ranking.
Article VI also requires all federal and state officials to take an oath to support the Constitution, and it bans any religious test as a qualification for holding public office. Many states at the time still required officeholders to profess specific religious beliefs; Article VI broke with that tradition at the federal level.12Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Article VI
Article VII: Ratification
The seventh article is the shortest. It specified that the Constitution would take effect once nine of the original thirteen states ratified it through special conventions.13Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Article VII New Hampshire became that ninth state on June 21, 1788, officially bringing the new government into existence. Requiring nine states rather than all thirteen meant a few holdouts could not block the entire project, a deliberate contrast with the old Articles of Confederation, which had required unanimous consent for any changes.
Article VII served a one-time purpose. Once ratification was complete, it became a historical artifact within the document.
Articles Versus Amendments
The seven articles are the original architecture of the government: they define how Congress works, what the President does, how courts are organized, and how states relate to each other and to the federal government.14National Archives. The Constitution: What Does it Say? The 27 amendments are changes and additions made afterward using the process in Article V.
Some amendments modify provisions in the original articles. The Twelfth Amendment rewrote the Electoral College procedures from Article II after the 1800 election. Others, like the Bill of Rights, add protections the original seven articles never addressed. Together, the seven articles and 27 amendments form the complete Constitution as it stands today.15National Constitution Center. The Amendments