September 17 commemorates the signing of one of the most important documents in all of human history—the U.S. Constitution.
Constitution Day, also referred to as Citizenship Day, is an annual remembrance of September 17, 1787, the date that delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, after much discussion and prayer, signed the document that would shape the new nation. The present holiday was established in 2004, with an amendment by U.S. Senator Robert Byrd to another Congressional bill. The amendment changed the date from May to September, as well as mandating that publicly funded educational institutions provide educational programming on the history of the Constitution.
The Constitution serves as the foundational document for the rights and liberties enjoyed by American citizens. However, many citizen groups are concerned that today’s Americans fail to understand the significance of the document or why it matters, largely because so many have never studied it or read even a portion of it. Several such groups have joined together in suggesting that Americans truly wanting to preserve those rights and liberties set aside time in the days leading up to September 17 to actually read the U.S. Constitution.
These organizations, as well as at least a few Missouri legislators, have expressed concerns that a decline in understanding of the Constitution has allowed unchecked expansion of federal power, endangering the very freedoms the document was supposed to secure. A Convention of States Action coalition is currently working to use the Constitution itself to address this problem—specifically, Article V, which calls for a convention to propose amendments to restore the balance of power. The COS is one of the groups challenging Americans to read—or in a few cases, re-read—the Constitution and recommit to standing up for its principles.
This important document can be accessed at https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/full-text; a free pocket-sized copy is also available from several organizations including Hillsdale College, https://lp.hillsdale.edu/free-pocket-constitution/. If you’re a parent or grandparent, ask your students how their school is commemorating the day. Locally in southwest Missouri, why not also plan to attend a performance of the Freedom Journey Show (https://www.freedomencounter.com), an excellent overview of the American journey to freedom and why it matters.
Being aware of the rights and responsibilities outlined in our founding documents is both a privilege and a responsibility in itself, and one that Americans must be attentive to if we expect to keep those rights. The challenge is to use Constitution Day as a reminder to increase that awareness.
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