The U.S. Constitution was not only written on parchment—it was written on a novel idea: that power must be limited, and liberty secured by law. Here’s how the Constitution changed the world when it was signed 238 years ago: Before 1787, authority flowed downward from monarchs. Our Founders flipped the order: authority flows upward from the people. It wasn’t simple rhetoric. It was a political earthquake, drawing on lessons from Athens, Rome, Jerusalem, and London to forge something new. As Russe