A constitution is the set of rules by which a nation or organization is governed. Its purpose is to limit the power of the government and ensure the liberty of its citizens. The framers of the Constitution set out to balance authority and freedom through separation of powers, checks and balances between branches of government, a written constitution, judicial review and explicit guarantees of individual rights.

The constitution establishes the number of senators and representatives each state will have in the United States Congress, how the president is elected and how the courts are structured. The Constitution also includes a bill of rights, which lists the most important individual rights protected by the constitution and limits the ability of government to deny or take away those rights.

Article I of the Constitution requires that a religious test not be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. It also establishes that in all cases where the value of the case in controversy exceeds twenty dollars, the right to trial by jury shall be preserved.

The Constitution also establishes that all laws made by the Congress, including those regulating interstate commerce, are to be supreme law of the land. It also gives Congress the power to regulate and tax all commerce between the states, while preventing the states from discriminating against citizens of other states. The framers of the Constitution created many other provisions, including bicameralism, judicial review and separation of powers, which are fundamental to modern constitutional theory.