It's Constitution Day! Here are 10 fun facts:
- Constitutional Convention met at the State House in Philadelphia, PA.
- There were 55 delegates to the Convention. At 81, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania was the oldest delegate at the Constitutional Convention and at 26, Jonathon Dayton of New Jersey was the youngest.
- Twelve of the Thirteen states were represented. Rhode Island did not send delegates to the Convention.
- The Constitution was drafted in 1787. Of the written national constitutions, the U.S. Constitution is the oldest and shortest.
- James Madison is often called the "Father of the Constitution."
- The Constitution became law on June 21, 1788, after 2/3 of the states ratified it. The ninth state to ratify the Constitution was New Hampshire.
- Not all the states had ratified the Constitution by April 30, 1789, when George Washington became the first President of the United States.
- The structure of the document has not changed since it was written.
- Amendments have provided the flexibility necessary to meet changing circumstances.
- The Constitution is preserved for all to view at the National Archives in Washington, DC.
1 comment:
"The structure of the document has not changed since it was written." I find that so exciting. It really is *alive,* isn't it? Magically able to shift with the times.
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