US Constitution anniversary this week

The Saturday, September 17, is the 224th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States of America. American colonists fought, sacrificed and died to establish and preserve the freedoms now guaranteed to us by the Constitution of the United States.

George Washington was unanimously chosen to preside over this Constitutional Convention, but James Madison is called the “Father of the Constitution” because of his ability to negotiate and encourage compromise.

Not all the sessions were harmonious, and Madison was an important mediator. Madison kept notes on the progress of the sessions in his Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 and told the delegates their work “would decide forever the fate of republican government.”

Gouverneur Morris is credited with writing the Constitution because he took all the decisions and resolutions and put them into polished form. “Gouverneur” is Morris’ first name, not his title.

Benjamin Franklin was the “Sage of the Constitution” and, at 81 years of age, the oldest delegate.

Thomas Jefferson was the American minister to France, so was not a delegate, but he did insist on the Bill of Rights being inserted into the Constitution.

The United States of America functions as a republic under the Constitution, which is the oldest document still in active use that outlines the self-government of a people. This landmark idea that men had the inalienable right as individuals to be free and live their lives under their own governance was the impetus of the American Revolution.

Today, the Constitution stands as an icon of freedom for people around the world.

Americans should study the constitution, know their rights and know that the Constitution both says and does not say.

–Isaac Van Wart Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution