Set of 5: 1987 US Constitution 22c
Front:
Do ordain
and establish this
Constitution for the
United States of America.
Preamble, U.S.Constitution
22
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28
1987
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And secure
che blessings of liberty
to ourselves
and our posterity.
28
1987
Preamble, U.S.Constitution
22
20066
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Establish justice,
insure domestic tranquility,
provide for the common defense,
promote the general welfare.
28
1987
22 20066
Preamble, U.S.Constitution
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1987
Preamble, U.S.Constitution
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Back:
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