I can hardly believe in three-and-half years of blogging about faith, culture and politics, I’ve never written about Constitution Day, which was yesterday.
Also known as Citizenship Day, Constitution Day is an American observance begun in 2005, honoring the day 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the United States Constitution. This historic date was September 17, 1787, 236 years ago.
Another important figure in the creation of Constitution Day is Louise Leigh. Leigh, after taking a course in Constitutional History with the National Center for Constitutional Studies, was inspired to spread her newfound love of the Constitution throughout the country. In 1997, she founded a nonprofit organization called Constitution Day, Inc. to help encourage recognition of the importance of this national holiday.
Through her efforts, Constitution Day became an official holiday alongside Citizenship Day in 2004 when, with the help of support from Senator Robert Byrd, the “Constitution Day” amendment to the Omnibus Spending Bill passed. In May 2005, the United States Department of Education backed the law when it announced that it would apply to any school receiving federal funds of any kind.
What is unique about the U.S. Constitution is that it is the only law passed by the People, and legislatures are therefore under the oversight of the People. In other words, the governments of this land, whether federal or state, are answerable to the People through the Constitution. We, the People, have the right and responsibility to demand that our “rulers” honor its authority and do not transgress it, as they are more and more inclined to do.
But to do that we need to know what it says. Here are some facts about the Constitution to get you interested in learning more.
- James Madison, America’s fourth President (1809-1817), made a major contribution to the ratification of the Constitution by writing The Federalist Papers, along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. In later years, he was referred to as the “Father of the Constitution.”
- The U.S. Constitution has 4,400 words. It is the oldest—and shortest—written Constitution of any major government in the world. (To be technically accurate, the Constitution contains 4,543 words, including the signatures, has four sheets, each 28-3/4 inches by 23-5/8 inches. It contains 7,591 words when including the 27 amendments.)
- Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution.
- There are 27 Amendments to the Constitution. The first ten are called The Bill of Rights and were ratified in 1791.
- 39 men signed the Constitution. The oldest was Ben Franklin, who was 81, physically frail, and entered the convention hall in a sedan chair borne by four prisoners from the Walnut Street jail in Philadelphia.
- The youngest signer was Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey who was 26 years old.
- George Washington and James Madison were the only presidents who signed the Constitution.
- As Benjamin Franklin left the Pennsylvania State House after the final meeting of the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787, he was approached by the wife of the mayor of Philadelphia. She was curious as to what the new government would be. Franklin replied, “A republic, madam. If you can keep it.”
- The word “democracy” does not appear in the Constitution.
If you’ve never commemorated Constitution Day, think about making an effort to understand the Constitution and then observing the day every September 17 by reading it.