Set of 5: 1987 US Constitution 22c

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Do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Preamble, U.S.Constitution 22 SHINGTOR 28 1987 20066 ERELIWX XPROCLAIMLIEET nore estab PASSAND STOW PHMADA DCOLIN shallconsmi DC RISRINGTON And secure che blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. 28 1987 Preamble, U.S.Constitution 22 20066 Eustice, establish toourselves SHINGTON Establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare. 28 1987 22 20066 Preamble, U.S.Constitution US ple rthe commn deende dt Gonsitilation CoT DC the United tates, in Onder We the people of the United States, in order to form bromote the genena breja Satks oAmeria 28 a more perfect Union... 22 20066 1987 Preamble, U.S.Constitution w her tad ohall WITHDRAW Ie comp toro of th not Cate senta nd DEPOSIT ite mo WASH AMERICA Ve ihe Yeople Yomostic Franguility, n provide forhy commen Sotenity, abordan and establihths Consti n.1.All bginlitiie The Bicentennial of the Constitution of the United States of America 7.1. iesentatives SHINGTON AUG O 1787-1987 USA 22 2.2. he late ohall hare Peron hall be a hallnot,when eleitad, bean oreventativas and direct aes colich hall ledatermined l three fejhle ofallotherRcens. The actaal Cnum oaysed 28 1987 20066 wholeit adding

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THE COMMITTEE OF STYLE First Day of Issue: August 28, 1987 First Issue Location: Washington, D.C. Satisfied that the Constitution was nearly complete, the delegates at the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 estab- lished a Committee of Style to rewrite the document and give it clarity, order and elegance. In the Committee members' minds, the words and arguments of a long summer echoed. Now it was time to condense the twenty-three articles into “the supreme Law of the Land." Four days were needed to finish the work. Whether they began with the preamble, or with the body of the docu- ment is unclear, but it is clear that the primary authorship of the Constitution belongs to Gouverneur Morris. It was he who wrote the bold Preamble beginning. “We the People of the United States ..." He proceeded with perhaps the seven most important verbs in the Constitu- tion itself: to form, establish, insure, provide, promote, secure and ordain. Morris felt the words had harmony and “muscle" while still expressing the complexities of the new government “in the plain, common language of mankind." No. 87-87 CONSTITUTION * 1787-1791* me be People BICENTENNIA 16612861 ©1987 The Maximum Card Collection A Division of Unicover Corporation . Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007 Original painting by John Benson. An Official Maximum Card of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution THE JUDICIAL BRANCH First Day of Issue: August 28, 1987 First Issue Location: Washington, D.C. From the first moments of the Philadelphia Convention, delegates considered the establishment of a national judiciary imperative. But, unlike the major revisions and heated debates over the structure of the executive and legislative branches, the judiciary excited little con- troversy. The delegates gave the judiciary an important power, for they looked to it as the body that would resolve the inevitable conflicts between state and na- tional laws. The Constitution vested the power to settle "cases in law and equity" in a Supreme Court and in such lower courts as Congress might create. The judges were to be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, and were appointed to hold office during good behavior. Thus, Article III created a strong, inde- pendent judicial branch that could preserve the constitu- tional balance between the nation and the states, and between the branches of the national government. No. 87-86 CONST11 1a * 1621-2821 * UNITED STATES me the People * 1661 *1987- BICENTENNIAL ©1987 The Maximum Card Collection A Division of Unicover Corporation . Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007 Original painting by John Benson. An Official Maximum Card of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH First Day of Issue: August 28, 1987 First Issue Location: Washington, D.C. The Virginia Plan submitted by James Madison and Ed- mund Randolph suggested “that a national executive be instituted ..." Charles Pinckney of South Carolina and James Wilson of Pennsylvania urged that it be a single, vigorous executive. Many Convention delegates heard the echoes of an American monarchy in those words. But there were also those delegates who saw merit in a limited monarchy, such as the proposed single national executive. A multiple executive was even suggested. With such a system in place, no one person would be powerful enough to abuse the privileges of the office. Yet the majority firmly believed that a single executive, who had to report to the Congress, would be the best safeguard against tyranny. After all, America's citizens were already “accustomed and reconciled to a single executive." Thus, in drafting Article Il of the Constitution, a single executive was invested with powers as President of the United States and Commander in Chief and was required to report to Congress on the State of the Union. No. 87-85 CONSTIT *UNITED STATES 1787-1791 *BIC the the People BYCENTENNIAL * 1661-28617 ©1987 The Maximum Card Collection A Division of Unicover Corporation • Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007 Original painting by John Benson. An Official Maximum Card of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH First Day of Issue: August 28, 1987 First Issue Location: Washington, D.C. The delegates at Philadelphia argued most over the na- ture and disposition of the American people, and what form of government they desired, deserved and would accept. The first attempt to answer these questions was the Virginia Plan, presented before the Convention in late May, 1787. The Plan called for a national legislature comprised of a House of Representatives patterned after Britain's House of Commons and a Senate patterned after the House of Lords. But this raised the issue of represen- tation. Large states held out for proportionate represen- tation based on state population; small states, feeling threatened by potential large state dominance in the legislature, rebelled and demanded equal representa- tion. Finally, as set forth in the Constitution's Article I, the delegates agreed to equal representation and direct popular elections for the House of Representatives, while initially each state legislature would pick two men from their state to serve in the Senate. No. 87-84 CONSTIT 1787-1791 * me be People BICENTENNIA 1987-1991 * ©1987 The Maximum Card Collection A Division of Unicover Corporation • Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007 Original painting by John Benson. An Official Maximum Card of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution THE COMMITTEE OF DETAIL First Day of Issue: August 28, 1987 First Issue Location: Washington, D.C. By July 24, 1787, it was time to bring the twenty-three resolutions passed by the Convention into some sort of order — clarifying language, removing contradictions, and tying up loose ends. To accomplish this, the Com- mittee of Detail was selected. Committee members were two Northerners — Nathaniel Gorham of Massachusetts and Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut; two Southerners — John Rutledge of South Carolina and Edmund Randolph of Virginia; and one middle stater — James Wilson of Pennsylvania. On Monday, August 6, the Committee was ready with its report. The five members did not believe they were presenting the final Constitution to the Convention, but they were, nonetheless, pleased with their effort. Written by James Wilson, the report was a clear design for a government of enumerated powers — a bold, national plan with power over people as individu- als, rather than states as corporate bodies. Five more weeks of debate would ensue before delegates gave the document to a new committee for final polishing. No. 87-83 CONSTITUTION 1787-1791 *BICY the be People BICENTENNIAN VIAL *1987-1991 ©1987 The Maximum Card Collection A Division of Unicover Corporation . Cheyenne, WY 82008-0007 Original painting by John Benson. An Official Maximum Card of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution