| FUN
FACTS ABOUT THE
U.S. CONSTITUTION
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Delegates to
the Constitutional
Convention met
in Philadelphia
at Independence
Hall, the site
of the signing
of the Declaration
of Independence.
The delegates
met from May 25
to September 17,
1787. Their purpose
was to revise
and replace the
Articles of Confederation,
which ran the
U.S. government
from March 1,
1781 to 1787. |
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James Madison
is known as the
Father of the
U.S. Constitution.
He attended every
day of the convention.
His copious notes
at the Constitutional
Convention were
later used to
write the Federalist
Papers. John Jay
and Alexander
Hamilton also
helped to write
the Federalist
Papers. |
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George Washington
was the presiding
officer of the
Constitutional
Convention. The
writers of the
Constitution had
George Washington
in mind when thinking
of a President
of the United
States. |
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Benjamin Franklin
was the oldest
delegate at the
Convention (he
was 81) and he
was the official
host of the event.
The youngest delegate
was 27 year old
Jonathan Dayton
of New Jersey. |
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55 delegates
attended the Convention
but only 39 signed
the finished document.
North Carolina
had five delegates
to the Convention.
They were William
Blount, William
Richardson Davie,
Alexander Martin,
Richard Dobbs
Spaight Sr. and
Hugh Williamson. |
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Davie, Martin
and Spaight each
became Governor
of North Carolina.
Davie was a founder
of the University
of North Carolina.
Williamson, a
scientist and
surgeon general
of North Carolina's
troops during
the American Revolution,
was a close friend
of Benjamin Franklin
and was a witness
to the Boston
Tea Party. Blount
was born near
present day Windsor
in Pamlico Sound.
He represented
North Carolina's
interests with
the Indians in
the western part
of the state.
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Spaight's wife,
Mary was the first
lady to dance
with George Washington
at a ball in Washington's
honor at Tryon
Palace in New
Bern in 1791.
Their son, Richard,
Jr. would also
become Governor
he and his father
were the first
father and son
to become Governors
of North Carolina.
(The second of
course, were Kerr
Scott and Bob
Scott). |
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Blount, Spaight
and Williamson
signed the U.S.
Constitution for
North Carolina. |
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The first ten
amendments to
the U.S. Constitution
are called The
Bill of Rights.
These were added
in 1791 when many
delegates in the
state ratifying
conventions were
very troubled
that the original
Constitution lacked
a description
of individual
rights. |
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The beginning
section of the
U.S. Constitution
is called the
Preamble. |
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The Constitution
states that a
number of representatives
a state has in
the U.S. House
of Representatives
is determined
by population
of that state. |
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The Constitution
states that each
state has two
Senators in the
U.S. Senate. |
| • |
The three branches
of government
mentioned in the
Constitution are
executive, legislative
and judicial. |
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Written in 1787,
the Constitution
was signed on
September 17th.
But it wasn't
until 1788 that
it was ratified
by the necessary
nine states. New
Hampshire was
the ninth state
to ratify the
U.S. Constitution,
thus enabling
the Constitution
to become the
law of the land.
North Carolina
was the 12th state
to ratify the
Constitution.
We became a state
on November 21,
1789. |
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Established
on November 26,
1789, the first
national "Thanksgiving
Day" was
originally created
by George Washington
as a way of "giving
thanks" for
the Constitution. |
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Of the written
national constitutions,
the U.S. Constitution
is the oldest
and shortest. |
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More than 11,000
amendments have
been introduced
in Congress. Thirty
three have gone
to the states
to be ratified
and twenty seven
have received
the necessary
approval from
the states to
actually become
amendments to
the Constitution. |
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The greatest
Constitutional
crisis in American
history was the
Civil War. (1861
1865). |
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You can
visit the Declaration
of Independence,
the Constitution
and the Bill
of Rights at
the National
Archives in
Washington,
D.C.
|
Web
Sites for you
to learn more
http://www.archives.gov/national
archives experience/charters/constitution.html
http://www.usconstitution.net/
http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html
http://www.constitutioncenter.org/
http://www.constitutionday.us/
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| Constitution
Day |
| » |
Constitution
Day is a federal
holiday that recognizes
the ratification
of the United
States Constitution.
It is observed
on September 17,
the day the U.S.
Constitutional
Convention signed
the Constitution
in 1787. |
| » |
The law establishing
the holiday was
created in 2004
with the passage
of an amendment
by Senator Robert
Byrd to the Omnibus
spending bill
of 2004. Before
this law was enacted,
the holiday was
known as Citizenship
Day. |
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When Constitution
Day falls on a
weekend of on
another holiday,
schools and other
institutions unofficially
observe the holiday
on an adjacent
weekday. This
was the case in
2005, when Constitution
Day was generally
observed on Friday,
September 16. |
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The U.S. Constitution
has 4,440 words.
It is the oldest
and shortest written
constitution of
any government
in the world. |
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Of the typographical
errors in the
Constitution,
the misspelling
of the word "Pensylvania"
about the signers'
names is probably
the most glaring. |
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Thomas Jefferson
did not sign the
Constitution.
He was in France
during the Convention,
where he served
as the U.S. minister.
John Adams was
serving as the
U.S. minister
to Great Britain
during the Constitutional
Convention and
did not attend
either. |
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The Constitution
was "penned"
by Jacob Shallu,
a Pennsylvania
General Assembly
clerk, for a fee
of $30 ($325.29
today). It was
stored in various
cities until 1952,
when it was placed
in the National
Archives Building
in Washington,
D.C. During the
daytime, pages
one and four of
the document are
displayed in a
bullet proof case.
The case contains
helium and water
vapor to preserve
the paper's quality.
At night, the
pages are lowered
into a vault,
behind five ton
doors that are
designed to withstand
a nuclear explosion.
The entire Constitution
is displayed only
one day a year
September 17,
the anniversary
of the day the
framers signed
the document. |
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The Constitution
does not set forth
requirements for
the right to vote.
As a result, at
the outset of
the Union, only
male property
owners could vote.
African Americans
were not considered
citizens, and
women were excluded
from the electoral
process. Native
Americans were
not given the
right to vote
until 1924. |
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James Madison,
"the father
of the Constitution,"
was the first
to arrive in Philadelphia
for the Constitutional
Convention. He
arrived in February,
three months before
the convention
began, bearing
the blueprint
for the new Constitution. |
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Of the forty
two delegates
who attended most
of the meetings,
thirty nine actually
signed the Constitution.
Edmund Randolph
and George Mason
of Virginia and
Elbridge Gerry
of Massachusetts
refused to sign
due in part to
the lack of a
bill of rights. |
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When it came
time for the states
to ratify the
Constitution,
the lack of any
bill of rights
was the primary
sticking point. |
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The Great Compromise
saved the Constitutional
Convention, and,
probably, the
Union. Authored
by Connecticut
delegate Roger
Sherman, it called
for proportional
representation
in the House,
and one representative
per state in the
Senate (this was
later changed
to two.) The compromise
passed 5 to 4,
with one state,
Massachusetts,
"divided." |
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Patrick Henry
was elected as
a delegate to
the Constitutional
Convention, but
declined, because
he "smelt
a rat." |
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Because of his
poor health, Benjamin
Franklin needed
help to sign the
Constitution.
As he did so,
tears streamed
down his face. |
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Governor Morris
was largely responsible
for the "wording"
of the Constitution,
although there
was a Committee
of Style formed
in September 1787. |
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The oldest person
to sign the Constitution
was Benjamin Franklin
(81). The youngest
was Jonathan Dayton
of New Jersey
(26). |
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When the Constitution
was signed, the
United States'
population was
4 million. It
is now more than
300 million. Philadelphia
was the nation's
largest city,
with 40,000 inhabitants. |
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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. |
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The first time
the formal term
"The United
States of America"
was used was in
the Declaration
of Independence. |
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It took one
hundred days to
actually "frame"
the Constitution. |
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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." |
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James Wilson
originally proposed
the President
be chosen by popular
vote, but the
delegates agreed
(after 60 ballots)
on a system known
as the Electoral
College. Although
there have been
500 proposed amendments
to change it,
this "indirect"
system of electing
the president
is still intact. |
| » |
George Washington
and James Madison
were the only
presidents who
signed the Constitution. |
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In November
of 1788 the Congress
of the Confederation
adjourned and
left the United
States without
a central government
until April 1789.
That is when the
first Congress
under the new
Constitution convened
with its first
quorum. |
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James Madison
was the only delegate
to attend every
meeting. He took
detailed notes
of the various
discussions and
debates that took
place during the
convention. The
journal that he
kept during the
Constitutional
Convention was
kept secret until
after he died.
It (along with
other papers)
was purchased
by the government
in 1837 at a price
of $30,000 (that
would be $503,675.99
today). The journal
was published
in 1840. |
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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. |
| » |
As Benjamin
Franklin left
the Pennsylvania
State House after
the final meeting
of the Constitutional
Convention on
September 17,
1787, he was approached
by the wife of
the mayor of Philadelphia.
She was curious
as to what the
new government
would be. Franklin
replied, "A
republic, madam.
If you can keep
it." |
| » |
On March 24,
1788, a popular
election was held
in Rhode Island
to determine the
ratification status
of the new Constitution.
The vote was 237
in favor and 2,945
opposed! |
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The members
of the first Congress
of the United
States included
54 who were delegates
to the Constitutional
Convention or
delegates to the
various state
ratifying conventions.
The number also
included 7 delegates
who opposed ratification. |
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Benjamin Franklin
died on April
17, 1790, at the
age of 84. The
20,000 mourners
at his funeral
on April 21, 1790,
constituted the
largest public
gathering up to
that time. |
| » |
Vermont ratified
the Constitution
on January 10,
1791, even though
it had not yet
become a state. |
| » |
The word "democracy"
does not appear
once in the Constitution. |
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There was a
proposal at the
Constitutional
Convention to
limit the standing
army for the country
to 5,000 men.
George Washington
sarcastically
agreed with this
proposal as long
as a stipulation
was added that
no invading army
could number more
than 3,000 troops! |
| » |
John Adams referred
to the Constitution
as "the greatest
single effort
of national deliberation
that the world
has ever seen"
and George Washington
wrote to the Marquis
de Lafayette that
"It (the
Constitution)
appears to me,
then, little short
of a miracle." |
| » |
The Pennsylvania
State House (where
the Constitutional
Convention took
place) was where
George Washington
was appointed
the commander
of the Continental
Army in 1775 and
where the Declaration
of Independence
was signed in
1776. It was also
where the Articles
of Confederation
were adopted as
our first constitution
in 1781. |
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During an event
to celebrate the
Constitution's
Sesquicentennial
in 1937, Harry
F. Wilhelm recited
the entire document
through the newly
added 21st Amendment
from memory. He
then obtained
a job in the Sesquicentennial
mailroom! |
| » |
The N.C. signers
were William Blount,
Richard D. Spaight
and Hugh Williamson. |
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William Blount
(1749 1800) Although
he signed the
Constitution,
that action was
taken just to
prove that he
was "present."
He supported its
ratification because
it would help
Western expansion,
and he used various
elected positions
to gain land for
his own economic
advancement. Blount
served as state
senator (1788
1790), governor
of the territory
south of the Ohio
River (1790),
president of the
Tennessee constitutional
convention (1796),
and as a United
States Senator
from Tennessee
(1796 1797). Blount
was involved in
a conspiracy for
inciting the Creek
and Cherokee Indians
to collaborate
with the British
Fleet in attacking
Spanish Florida
and Louisiana.
Based upon these
charges Blount
was impeached
by the House of
Representatives
and expelled by
the Senate in
1797. He returned
to Tennessee and
served in the
state senate. |
| » |
Richard D. Spaight
(1758 1802) He
was elected to
three terms as
governor of North
Carolina beginning
in 1792, and was
a major force
in moving the
capital from New
Bern to Raleigh.
He was elected
a member of the
United States
House of Representatives
(1798 1801) and
was killed in
a duel by his
successor in Congress
(John Stanly)
in 1802. |
| » |
Hugh Williamson
(1735 1819) He
was elected to
two terms in the
United States
House of Representatives
(1789 1793), and
then retired from
public life. He
spent many of
his remaining
years at the New
York Hospital,
dedicating much
of his time to
the study of medicine.
One of his chief
interests was
writing on the
climate of North
America. |
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