Thomas Jefferson once said, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty, and pursuit of Happiness.—That to guarantee these rights governments are established among men, which derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. I am asked whether I believe that the United States lives up to its founding principles, the first thing that comes to mind is this quote and I have to say that America is not living up to its founding principles. A constitution is the system of fundamental principles by which a nation is governed. Our founding fathers created the Constitution of the United States to establish standards specific to our country. We must ask ourselves why our founding fathers created the Constitution. America rebelled against the British because of their monarchical form of government. After the American Revolution, each of the original 13 colonies operated under its own rules of government. Most states were against any form of centralized governance by the government. They feared that what had happened in England might happen again. They decided to write the Articles of Confederation, which was ratified in 1781. It was not effective and caused many problems. The central government could not regulate interstate commerce, deal with foreign governments, or resolve disputes. The country was falling apart. The central government could not provide assistance to the state because there was no central army. When they realized that the Articles of Confederation fell short, they organized a convention, known as the Constitutional Convention of 1787. As a result of t...... half of the document ......ml>. “Ways Males and Females Are Treated Differently.” Mills College: Personal Pages Directory. Network. March 20, 2011. "US Judge Rules Health Care Reform Act Unconstitutional | Business Insurance." Business insurance news, analysis and articles. Network. March 20, 2011. "CNN Poll: Americans Don't Like Health Care Law - CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blog." CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blog. Network. March 20, 2011. "US Judge Rules Health Care Reform Act Unconstitutional | Business Insurance." Business insurance news, analysis and articles. Network. March 22. 2011. .