The first attempt for a new government was in 1781 when the Articles of Confederation was formed. The Articles of Confederation was like a contract that bounded the 13 colonies together which gave each individual state power over its own decisions. Some conflicts arose from this. So, the next step was the creation of the US Constitution. The Constituion was a set of laws that defined the powers of the government. This fell through when there was nothing mentioned about slavery.
Many, many conflicts arose from the states slavery issue. After much thought it was deceided to come up with a comprimise. "For every free state there will be a slave state". This seemed to work until Lincoln was elected in 1860 and then slavery was abolished. This played a key role in the beginning of the civel war where 600,000 people lost there lives. This is a great example of why the Constitution had failed. So the 13 amendment was formed and slavery was officially abolished.
Now around 1865 America was in great need for some reconstruction. With the states having their local powers revoked they did not want to lose their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. With the new central government in control new federal supremacy was formed and initiated new checks and balances to ensure the government was running properly.
From 1776 to 1876 America under went several major changes and transformed it from a very