Ratified On September 17, 1787, The U.S. Constitution Didn’t Become Effective Until June 1788

Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is an American federal observance (not a holiday) that commemorates the adoption of the Constitution of the United States and those who have become United States citizens.  This day is observed each year on September 17. On this day members of the U.S. Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution in 1787.

• 1787 – The Constitutional Convention lasted from May 25 to September 17, 1787. During that time, the 55 delegates debated the duties of the government, checks, and balances, and the rights and freedoms of the people.
  • They divided the government into three branches: the legislative branch to make the laws; the executive to execute the laws, and the judicial to interpret the laws.
  • The delegates suffered through rough weather, heat, and illness. Despite the conditions, they formed a Bill of Rights enumerating the rights and freedoms of the people.
  • Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and George Washington all signed the Constitution.
• 1787 – December 7, 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution.
• 1788 – The U.S. Constitution goes into effect when New Hampshire becomes the ninth state to ratify it.
• 1789 – Inspired by the American Revolution, the French took up arms against the monarchy, eventually toppling King Louis XVI.
• 1790 – Rhode Island didn’t send any delegates to the Constitutional Convention. As a result, they were the last state to ratify the Constitution on May 29, 1790.
• 1791 – The original Constitution lacked a description of the individual rights. It was only in 1791 that the first ten Amendments were included, which became known as the Bill of Rights.
• 1789 – On November 26, 1789, President George Washington created the first national Thanksgiving Day to give thanks to the Constitution.
• 1841 – when Vice President John Tyler assumed the presidency after the death of William Harrison, there was nothing in the Constitution that provided for the vice president to become president. Despite lacking Constitutional authority, Tyler assumed the presidency as has every succeeding vice president in the same position.
• 1868 – Under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, citizenship is defined as “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” Secretary of State William Seward proclaimed the amendment ratified on July 28, 1868.
• 1911 – This holiday dates back to 1911 when schools in Iowa first recognized Constitution Day.
• 1917 – the society known as the Sons of the American Revolution formed a committee to promote Constitution Day. Members of that committee included Calvin Coolidge, John D. Rockefeller, and General John Pershing.
• 1924 – The 15th and 19th Amendments define those rights to vote for blacks and women. However, it wasn’t until 1924 that all Native Americans were granted citizenship. Through the Indian Citizenship Act, many Native Americans were allowed to vote for the first time. Still, this legislation did not stop some states from preventing some from voting.
• 1939 – William Hearst began to advocate for a holiday that would celebrate citizenship. William Hearst owned a chain of newspapers and used these to build awareness for his idea.
• 1940 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared “I am an American Day,” and Congress designated the third Sunday in May to celebrate it.
• 1949 – the governors of all 48 states had issued Constitution Day proclamations.
• 1952 – On February 29, 1952, Congress changed the name from “I am an American Day” to “Citizenship Day” and moved its observation to September 17.
• 1967 – It was only in 1967 that the 25th Amendment stated that the vice president technically becomes the president in cases of removal of the president from office, death, resignation or inability to discharge the powers of office.
• 2004 – the day was renamed Constitution Day and Citizenship Day.
• In the world’s major governments, the United States Constitution is both the shortest and the oldest constitution, with only 4,543 words.
• A Pennsylvania General Assembly Clerk named Jacob Shallus was paid to pen the Constitution for $30, which is around $830 today.
• Not once in the Constitution does the word ‘democracy’ appear.
• Among the most glaring misspellings in the original Constitution was “Pennsylvania”
• The famous Liberty’s Voice, Patrick Henry, did not sign the Constitution because he “smelt a rat.”
• Two founding fathers and future presidents of the USA who were not actually at the Constitutional Convention (and who did not sign the document) were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson because they were away on diplomatic missions to Great Britain and France.
• The original copy of the Constitution was placed in the Department of State in 1789 and was transferred to the Library of Congress in 1921. In 1954 it began its exhibit in the National Archives in Washington, DC.
• Article II of the Constitution gives the U.S. President the specific powers to: sign or veto legislation, command the armed forces, ask for the opinion of Cabinet members, convene or adjourn Congressional sessions, grant pardons, and receive ambassadors.
• The President can also make treaties, provided that they are ratified by two-thirds of the Senate.
• Of 11,600 proposed amendments, only 27 have been ratified, making the chance of passing an amendment 0.23% — or, rounded down, 0.

Here is a Citizenship test, how many can you get right?

Sources:

National Day Calendar

Soft Schools

Kids Konnect

Days of the Year

National Today