United States Government - Printer-friendly - MSN Encarta (1291 words) |
 | The Constitution of the United States is the basis for the machinery and institutions of the U.S. government. |
 | In the preamble—or introduction—to the Constitution, in which they stated their principles and purposes, the Founders recognized the United States as a government of the people, not of the states. |
 | Article VI is a catchall article; its most important section establishes the Constitution and the laws of the United States as “the supreme Law of the Land.” Article VII of the Constitution establishes procedures that were used in 1788 and 1789 for the approval and subsequent adoption of the document by the states. |
United States (2860 words) |
 | United States—the first American warship to be launched under the naval provisions of the Constitution —entered the water four months before the launching of sister ship Constellation at Baltimore and five and one-half months before that of Constitution at Boston. |
 | United States was repaired at Norfolk in 1841 and was designated the new flagship of the Pacific Squadron in January 1842. |
 | United States (CVA-58) was laid down on 18 April 1949 at Newport News, Va., by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Corp., but her construction was terminated only five days later on the 23d. |