Constitution Day – September 17, 2012
By Dr. Laura Palmer Noone
CEO of University of the Potomac
Two hundred and twenty five years ago, on September 17, 1787, forty-two of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention held their final meeting at the State House of Philadelphia. Only one item of business occupied the agenda that day – to sign the Constitution of the United States of America. (Prior to this point our government had existed under the articles of Confederation.) From there, the Constitution was sent to the states for ratification – to form “a more perfect union.”
Today, many colleges and universities celebrate Constitution Day as a part of our participation in the federal financial aid program. Schools and federal agencies are required to hold educational programs on the Constitution on Constitution Day.
On four hand written pages, our founding fathers outlined what was to be our model of government. The ideals on which America was founded– the rule of law, limited government and the ideals of liberty, equality and justice–are embodied in the Constitution. Our Constitution is the oldest written constitution of any nation in existence today.
Constitution Day is intended to celebrate not only the birthday of our government, but the ideas that make us Americans. Funny – that sounds like something we should be doing everyday…
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