Schoolhouse Rock: The Preamble

Most Americans recognize the opening words to the Preamble to the Constitution:

We the People, of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility…

However, while most American recognize the words, they might not recognize that the words are from the Preamble to the Constitution. According to the U.S. Senate Reference, “the Preamble explains the purposes of the Constitution, and defines the powers of the new government as originating from the people of the United States.”

If you need a refresher on the significance of The Preamble, this oldie but goodie Schoolhouse Rock song can jog your memory.

Happy Constitution Day!

September 17, 2014, marks the 227^th anniversary of our nation’s founding document.  On September 17, 1787, the U.S. Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution.  Constitution Day has shared some really interesting Constitutional facts:

• The U.S. Constitution has 4,400 words. It is the oldest and shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world."
• The oldest person to sign the Constitution was Benjamin Franklin (81). The youngest was Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey (26).
• Although Benjamin Franklin’s mind remained active, his body was deteriorating. He was in constant pain because of gout and having a stone in his bladder, and he could barely walk. He would enter the convention hall in a sedan chair carried by four prisoners from the Walnut Street jail in Philadelphia.
• When the Constitution was signed, the United States’ population was 4 million. It is now more than 309 million. Philadelphia was the nation’s largest city, with 40,000 inhabitants.
• Four of the signers of the Constitution were born in Ireland.
• There was initially a question as to how to address the President. The Senate proposed that he be addressed as “His Highness the President of the United States of America and Protector of their Liberties.” Both the House of Representatives and the Senate compromised on the use of “President of the United States.”
• A proclamation by President George Washington and a congressional resolution established the first national Thanksgiving Day on November 26, 1789. The reason for the holiday was to give “thanks” for the new Constitution.

If you’d like to learn more about the Constitution, visit Constitution Day.  Here you can read the Constitution and Amendments, the Declaration of Independence and learn more about the different facets of our government.  You can even discover your inner founding father and test your Constitutional IQ.

Happy Constitution Day!