enacted that the first Wednesday in January should be the day for
appointing electors; that the electors should cast their votes for
President on the first Wednesday in February, and that on the first
Wednesday of March the new government should go into operation. It was
not until April 1 that a quorum was secured in the House of
Representatives, and in the Senate not until April 6. The electoral
votes were counted in the presence of the two houses on April 6.[10] The
inauguration of President Washington did not take place, however, until
April 30.

[Footnote 10: New York did not choose electors. North Carolina and Rhode
Island, as we have seen, had not ratified the Constitution.]

Origin of the Constitution.--Before making a study of this
epoch-making document, let us inquire briefly as to its origin. An
analysis of the Constitution shows that there are some provisions which
are new and that English precedent had an influence. The main features,
however, were derived from the constitutions of the States with whose
practical workings the delegates were familiar. The following well-known
statement is an excellent summary: "Nearly every provision of the
Federal Constitution that has worked well is one borrowed from or
suggested by some State constitution; nearly every provision that has
worked badly is one which the convention, for want of a precedent, was
obliged to devise for itself."

Authority and Objects of the Constitution.--It was evidently the
intention of the framers of the Constitution to found a government
deriving its authority from the people rather than from the States. The
purposes for which this was done are set forth in the following
enacting clause, commonly called the preamble:--