But before the United States had a Constitution, the new republic of 13 colonies was governed by..

The Articles of Confederation

During the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress drafted the Articles to conduct business. And they were ratified by colonies near the end of the war.  {reference: https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/articles.html }

Yet they were many shortcomings, so a Constitutional Convention was called in Philadelphia in 1787.

For a good timeline on the Constitutional Convention,

check out:   http://teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/timeline/

Thus was born...

The Constitution 

The document created on September 17, 1787 at the first Constitutional Convention.

{reference: http://constitutionus.com/ }

The Preamble stating its principles is told in this children's song below:

So the Constitution was ratified 1788 and put effect in 1789 when we elected our first president of the United States under the Constitution, George Washington.

Meanwhile, to sell the Constitution to the States, a case was made for them in...

The Federalist Papers

These 85 essays were written in 1787 - 1788 to make the case for the Constitution, so the States would ratify it. The authors, who used the pseudonym Publius, were some of our well known Founding Father--Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.

The result of this Constitution was the shift from a monarch to

We the People

Timeless

A document for the ages and all people. And celebrated in our pop culture

As shown in Star Trek, the Original Series,  Season 2 Episode 52 "The Omega Glory" (1968).

Whether it's Sci-Fi in the 23rd century or our own time in the 21st century, the Preamble and the words that follow offer principles for everyone to live by as well as words to remember who we are.

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Civics (part 1) - The Electoral College (2016)