The Constitution in the 1850's: Unity or Discord The Constitution is the basic law of the United States. It was drafted by the Constitutional Convention of May 25 through September 17, 1787. Before the Constitution, there were the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation had many limitations. The Articles of Confederation were just not working at this time. Therefore, the Constitution Convention came up with the Constitution, America still follows it today. In the 1850's, the Constitution had become a source of sectional discord instead of unity because of many reasons. On May 30, 1854, the U.S. Congress passed the Kansas-Neb