Seven Constitutions and Their Dates

In one line

The seven constitutions were written between 1787 and 1999, and each answers the problem its framers faced, which is why they look so different.

In the wording a student can write in an exam: the constitutions on this syllabus were adopted in 1787, 1867, 1937, 1949, 1949, 1982 and 1999, with the United Kingdom's having no date of adoption at all, and each embodies the constitutional preoccupation of its own moment, so that the differences between them are historical before they are theoretical.

The dates, and the problem each answers

United States, 1787. Framed at Philadelphia, ratified 1788, in operation from 4 March 1789. The problem was that thirteen States had just fought a war against a strong central government and then found the Articles of Confederation too weak to govern with. The answer is a short document that creates a federal government of enumerated powers, divides it three ways, and reserves the residue. Twenty seven amendments have followed, the first ten as a single package in 1791.

Canada, 1867. The British North America Act, now the Constitution Act 1867, an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament. The problem was to unite provinces with different languages, religions and legal systems in the shadow of a civil war next door that had been fought over the rights of the units. The answer is a federation with a strong centre: the residue and the important heads of power at the centre by the peace, order and good government words of section 91, provincial Lieutenant Governors appointed federally, and a Senate appointed rather than elected.

Ireland, 1937. Bunreacht na hEireann, adopted by referendum on 1 July 1937 and in force from 29 December. The problem was to replace a constitution derived from a treaty with one derived from the people, and to state a national identity. The answer is a document heavy with declarations, a directly elected President with almost no power, proportional representation, a rigid amending procedure requiring a referendum, and Article 45, the directive principles of social policy.

Germany, 1949. The Basic Law, adopted by the Parliamentary Council on 23 May 1949. The problem was that a democratic constitution had been used, by its own procedures, to destroy a democracy. The answer is human dignity in article 1, militant democracy, a constructive vote of no confidence in article 67, a powerful Federal Constitutional Court, and an eternity clause in article 79(3) putting some things beyond amendment.

India, 1949. Adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949 and in force from 26 January 1950. The problem was the largest and the most complex on this list: to integrate princely States, to guarantee rights to a society divided by caste, religion and language, to distribute power in a country of that size, to make a social revolution possible, and to prepare for emergencies, all with no prior tradition of constitutional self-government. The answer is the longest national constitution in the world.