The document I have chosen to write about is the Constitution of the United States. When the thirteen British colonies of North America declared their independence in 1776, they stipulated that "Governments are instituted among men, and derive their just powers from the consent of the governed." The “colonies” were to establish a government that would be part of the United States. The purpose of a written constitution is to more specifically define and therefore limit the powers of government. After the Articles of Confederation failed in the 13 colonies, the U.S. Constitution was created in 1787. The Constitution is important because it was expressly designed to limit the powers to three coordinated branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches; none of them should have supremacy over the others. This separation of powers with the checks and balances that each branch was given in relation to the others was intended to prevent one branch from infringing on the individual freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. I think the US Constitution was a way for the United States to establish a government that was a negotiation between the two previous governments, a monarchy and total state power. I think by creating checks and balances, people's rights would be more secure and they would feel safer without a branch of government with absolute power. What I found most interesting about the Constitution was how complex and detailed its framers made it, to effectively explain and limit the different branches of power within the government. In the words of Thomas Paine, “government without a constitution is power without rights.” This means that for power to be granted, it is necessary to establish a constitution. Federalist Papers 10 and 51 are essays that helped persuade citizens of the United States to vote for the Federal Constitution. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay used pseudonyms as names to convince the public. Those who were skeptical about voting for a government with many different major powers were reassured by the Founding Fathers in their speeches and conventions across the United States. The importance of the Constitution, both in its content and in its status, is little appreciated by the general public..