DID YOU KNOW?

September 10, 2010

Constitution Day is September 17th.

The "supreme law of the land," the U.S. Constitution, was drafted by legislators in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between July and September 1787. The delegates had originally met to revise the Articles of Confederation, but decided instead to discard the Articles and create an entirely new form of government. The delegates worked to achieve a delicate balance by establishing a government powerful enough to be effective but not oppressive. The resulting document establishes the country's republican principles, outlines the checks and balances between the three branches of government, and suggests the federalist relationship between the national and state governments. After New Hampshire ratified the document on June 21, 1788, the new form of government had the necessary support of three-fourths of the states to go into effect, which it did on July 2 of that year. The U.S. Constitution has remained at the center of American government ever since then. Go to the ABC-CLIO American History database for more American history.

Rose G.
Buckner Branch