Historical documents
Did you find the grammar mistake in the US Constitution? We have!
Image: Tara Winstead
The US Constitution is one of the most important documents in American history, but even the most well-read citizens might not have noticed some mistakes and details. This document has its fair share of surprises, from typos and outdated spellings to missing signatures and common misconceptions. Did you know it contains grammar mistakes? Or that the document doesn’t establish a democracy? Let’s see how this goes!
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Let’s start with a grammar mistake
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Even the nation’s most important document wasn’t immune to typos! Article I, Section 10 writes "it’s" instead of "its," mistakenly using the contraction instead of the possessive form.
The funny part? The correct spelling of "its" appears properly in other parts of the document. This suggests it was just a careless transcription mistake rather than a misunderstanding of grammar. Since rewriting historical documents isn’t exactly encouraged, the mistake remains to this day. Even the Founding Fathers weren’t perfect proofreaders, you know?
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A republic, not a democracy
Image: Joshua Sukoff
One of the biggest misconceptions about the Constitution is that it established an American democracy. However, the US was founded as a republic , which differs in that it relies on elected representatives and a system of checks and balances.
When asked whether the Convention had created a monarchy or a republic, Benjamin Franklin famously replied: "A republic, if you can keep it." It was a warning that democracy requires active participation to survive.
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The Constitution’s British roots
Image: Romain Vignes
Even though the U.S. had declared independence from Britain, the Constitution still used British spellings. Words like "defence," "labour," and "controul" (instead of defense, labor, and control) can be found in the original text.
These spellings were still common in American English at the time, though they would eventually fade away in favor of more distinctly American versions.
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A comma that shouldn't be there
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Grammar nerds, brace yourselves: the Constitution contains a strange comma mistake. In Article III, Section 1, the sentence reads: "The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court." That comma between "United States" and "shall" separates the subject from the verb, making it grammatically incorrect. While punctuation rules were more flexible back then, this particular comma sticks out as a clear mistake.
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Who signed the Constitution? Not Jefferson or Adams!
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You might assume that Thomas Jefferson and John Adams signed the Constitution, but they didn’t. But that’s not because they didn’t stand by it, it was because they weren’t even in the country at the time!
In 1787, Jefferson was in France serving as the US Minister, while Adams was in Great Britain as the first US. Ambassador. Despite their absence, both men played major roles in shaping the early American government.
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Not everyone signed both the Declaration and the Constitution
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Let’s focus on the ones who did sign both documents. Both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed by key American figures, but only six men signed both .
Those names? Benjamin Franklin, George Clymer, Robert Morris, George Read, James Wilson, and Roger Sherman. While many Founding Fathers contributed to both documents, the actual signatures overlap far less than one might expect. How surprising is this?
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Rhode Island wanted no part in it
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When the Founding Fathers met in Philadelphia in 1787 to draft the Constitution, all 13 states were invited, but Rhode Island refused to show up . The state feared that a strong federal government would overpower them, so they boycotted the entire process.
They even rejected the Constitution’s ratification in 1788 before finally agreeing two years later, by just two votes!
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They "chuse" some interesting spellings
Image: Brett Jordan
If you were told our Constitution reads " The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment," would you believe it?
You better do because this spelling mistake doesn’t happen only once, it appears multiple times throughout the document.
While it may seem like an error, "chuse" was actually a perfectly acceptable spelling at the time. Language evolves, and by the 19th century, "choose" had won out as the standard spelling.
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The President cannot veto Constitutional Amendments
Image: David Everett Strickler
Presidents may have veto power over laws, but they have zero say when it comes to Constitutional amendments. Congress or a constitutional convention must propose and ratify them without requiring presidential approval.
While presidents can support or lobby for amendments, they can’t introduce or block them directly. Not many people knew this, what about you?
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The Supreme Court’s most famous power isn’t in the Constitution
Image: Adam Michael Szuscik
Many people assume the Constitution explicitly gives the Supreme Court the power of judicial review, that is, the ability to declare laws unconstitutional. But guess what? It doesn’t.
Actually, judicial review became a standard practice after the famous Marbury v. Madison case in 1803. The Founding Fathers expected the courts to play this role, but the power isn’t actually written in the document itself. Even the Constitution has its unwritten rules!
