The History of Constitution Day
We The People...
Origins and fun facts
There is quite a history and a lot of changes to what is today's Constitution Day.
Originally called I am an American Day, which began being celebrated every third Sunday in May 1940.
This was started by the suggestion of a NY news tycoon, William Randolph Hearst and was presented by President Harry Truman, setting aside this date to honor the American people, with those just immigrating into the United States.
With Hearst's popularity and efforts through the United States Immigration and Naturalization, in 1944 he sponsored a 16-minute film titled, I am an American. It became a hit.
In the next 5 years, the governors of the existing forty-eight states had issued state proclamations in agreement with the national holiday.
In 1952, Olga T. Weber petitioned to have the date changed to September 17th, in honor of the date the constitution was signed. She went all the way up to the United States Congress, and in 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it. Changing the name to Citizenship Day and moving it to September 17.
Louisville, Ohio was the first city in the United States to celebrate Citizenship Day on September 17, 1952.
Louise Leigh studied the Constitution in her courses and was inspired to spread her knowledge and love of the Constitution. In 1997 she founded a nonprofit organization called Constitution day, Inc. to spread recognition of this important national holiday. Through her efforts, Constitution Day became an official holiday alongside Citizenship Day in 2004.
The Constitution of the United States of America
We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
It is the supreme law of the United States of America. This founding document originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government.
The Constitution was written during the Philadelphia Convention-now known as the Constitution Convention.
The purpose of it was to create a government that had enough power to act on a national level, but not so much power that fundamental rights would be at risk.
The signing took place on September 17, 1787 at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
There were 39 delegates, representing 12 states, at the signing.
When the Constitution was signed, the United States population was 4 million.
The oldest person to sign was Benjamin Franklin(aged 81 @signing)
The youngest was Jonathan Dayton(26) of New Jersey
Patrick Henry was elected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, but declined.
The word "democracy" does not appear in the Constitution
Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, was called the "Expounder of the Constitution"
Thomas Jefferson nor John Adams signed the Constitution, as they were both serving out of the country.
George Washington and James Madison are the only two presidents to sign the Constitution.
It took 100 days to actually "frame" the Constitution
Pennsylvania is misspelled in the Constitution. (Pensylvania)
Those are a few of the fun facts I learned today. You can go through them all here:
I'm always fascinated by history. No matter our feelings or beliefs, on any matter, I feel knowledge is still our best asset.
Today, we celebrate Constitution Day.
I choose to be proud of the dedication, work, and thoughtfulness of the Founding Fathers.
Although, I may not agree 100% with all the Constitution, it is one of the greatest documents.
It may have been just the beginning. We don't know how they felt about the timeline or changes to be made. For them, it was a starting point. It was a document to give order and peace to The United States of America.
Our country has come a long way in 234 years.
Enjoy your day!
Blessings.
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