The Constitution Is 4,543 Words Long. One Amendment Inside It Took 202 Years to Take Effect.
The U.S. Constitution runs just 4,543 words and built three branches with real, mechanical checks on each other. One of its amendments, first proposed by James Madison in 1789, wasn't ratified until 1992 -- revived by a college sophomore who got a C on a term paper arguing it could still pass.
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