Today, September 17, is Constitution Day, marking the anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787.
The Constitutional Convention had spent months debating how the new nation should be governed. Delegates considered issues ranging from the powers of the federal government and representation to the balance between national and state authority.
The final document was signed by 39 delegates representing 12 states. The Constitution established a new framework of government that would later be ratified by the states.
Here are 10 interesting facts about the Constitution:
1. It was signed 239 years ago.
The Constitution was completed and signed on September 17, 1787. The National Archives describes the original as a four-page parchment document.
2. It was handwritten by Jacob Shallus.
Shallus, an assistant clerk for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, spent about 40 hours engrossing the final document. He was paid $30 for the work.
3. The Constitution contains about 4,500 words.
The National Archives lists the Constitution at 4,543 words when the signatures are included, but not the certificate concerning interlineations.
4. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams did not sign it.
Both men were serving overseas during the Constitutional Convention. Jefferson was in France and Adams was in Great Britain on diplomatic assignments.
5. Not every delegate agreed to sign.
George Mason, Elbridge Gerry and Edmund Randolph refused to sign the Constitution, in part because it did not originally contain a Bill of Rights.
6. Benjamin Franklin was the oldest signer.
Franklin was 81 years old during the convention. Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey was the youngest delegate, at 26.
7. George Washington and James Madison were the only future presidents to sign the Constitution.
Both participated in the Constitutional Convention and their signatures appear on the document.
8. The Constitution did not immediately become the nation’s governing document simply because it was signed.
After the convention ended, the Constitution went through a state-by-state ratification process. Nine states were required to ratify it before the new government could take effect.
9. The original Constitution is preserved at the National Archives.
The document is permanently housed in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom in Washington, D.C. It is displayed in a specially designed protective encasement that uses argon gas and environmental monitoring to help preserve the parchment.
10. Constitution Day wasn’t always celebrated on September 17.
In 1940, Congress established what was known as “I Am An American Day,” observed in May. In 1952, Congress moved the observance to September 17 and designated it Citizenship Day. In 2004, the law was changed to establish September 17 as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, with educational requirements for federally funded schools and federal agencies.
More than two centuries after the convention in Philadelphia, Constitution Day provides an opportunity to look back at the document that established the framework of the federal government and remains one of the country’s most important founding documents.
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution/how-was-it-made?utm_source=chatgpt.com
