Celebrate Constitution Week

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

(Franklin, GA) — These words are the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America.

Stop by your Franklin Library and view the Constitution Week display to learn about the Georgia signers of this important document.

During the summer of 1787, delegates went to Philadelphia to draft a stronger document than the one in which the country currently operated underneath – the Articles of Confederation.

The Articles of Confederation were ratified in 1781, but it didn’t allow for many of the features the government needed. It didn’t allow for a judicial branch and only allowed congress to be one legislature, which was called the Congress of the Confederation.

However, while this congress was given some limited powers, it didn’t have the authority to enforce many of them.

The United States desperately needed a stronger legal instrument to guide the country and to form a “more perfect Union.”

On September 17th, 1787, the constitution was signed, and by the summer of 1788 was ratified by the 13 states and in full effect.

From the time of it’s signing the Constitution has only changed 27 times.

The first ten amendments to the Constitution are known as the “Bill of Rights.” The First Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on December 15, 1791 – 2 years, 2 months, and 20 days after it was submitted for ratification.

Amendment twenty-seven was ratified May 7, 1992 – 202 years, 7 months and 12 days after it was submitted for ratification. The 26th Amendment only took 3 months and 8 days to go through the ratification process in 1971.

During Constitution Week, September 17 – 23, we invite you to join the James Stewart Chapter, NSDAR, as we celebrate the signing of this important document.

Ring your bell on Constitution Day, September 17th at 4:00 PM.

The week is one of the many commemorations throughout the year. You can celebrate these events that helped shape our country with other chapter members by contacting us at jamesstewartchapterdar@gmail.com.