By Stephen Comes

On May 25, 1787, fifty-five men gathered in a small, but stately, courthouse in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. After seventeen grueling weeks of debates, heated by tempers and a regional heatwave, thirty-nine members signed their creation, the United States Constitution.

Constitution Day, September 17, commemorates the creation and signing of this monumental document that is the foundation of the United States Government.

First recognized in 1940 as “I am an American Day” by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the current holiday was established as part of the Omnibus spending bill of 2004. The holiday combines celebrations of “Citizen Day,” “I am an American Day,” and “Constitution Day” into a single federal holiday.

Schools and campuses across the country host Constitution Day events and activities. Games, trivia, contests, and interactive demonstrations all promote fun and learning about the Constitution.

In Washington DC, the National Archives Museum will host a day of activities along with its annual State of the Constitution lecture.

Closer to home, Southeastern commemorated Constitution Day with a panel discussion of the Fourth Amendment September 16, in the Glen D. Johnson Student Union Auditorium.

The discussion, hosted by the Office of Student Life, the Student Government Association, and the Pre-Law Society, discussed searches and seizures and issues that may be of interest to college students.

A few constitution facts

• It was signed by thirty-nine of the forty-two remaining delegates of the Constitutional Convention in September 17, 1787.
• The framers of the constitution met in secret, behind locked doors and guarded by sentries.
• Early drafts of the Constitution included a clause that would have abolished slavery in 20 years.
• At 4543 words, the US Constitution is the shortest national constitution in the world, and of those words, ‘democracy’ is not used once.
• New Hampshire is the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, making it law on June 21, 1788.
• George Washington proposed the first “Thanksgiving Day” for the constitution on November, 26 1789.
• Of the eleven-thousand amendments that have been proposed to the Constitution, only thirty-three have been submitted to states for approval. Of those, only twenty-seven have been ratified.