Why isn't this day a holiday? It seems a bit more important than most of the bank holidays.
Constitution Day, Sept. 17, commemorates the date in 1787 on which the United States Constitution was approved by the state delegations to the Constitutional Convention and signed by 39 of its framers.Two hundred and twenty-two years later, many have noted an alarming lack of knowledge about the Constitution and our system of government. A recent national survey found that more American teenagers could name The Three Stooges than could name the three branches of our government.
That kind of ignorance can hurt more than Moe poking you in the eye. If you have kids, read some of the Constitution to them, explain it's unique historical importance and how the Founders risked thier very lives to provide us with the freedoms we so often take for granted. Ask them to imagine how cruel life must seem to those who are denied the basic freedoms we enjoy and the kinds of risks these unfree people take to obtain our freedoms.
Fast facts about the Constitution.
Nickname: Bundle of Compromises
Chief Draftsmen of the U S Constitution:James Madison and Gouverneur Morris
Ratification of the U S Constitution: 1789 with the agreement of 9 out of 13 states. Eventually all 13 would ratify the US Constitution.
Read more fast facts here.
