CONSTITUTION WEEK SPOTLIGHT

Today is Day Four of Constitution Week commemorating the signing of our Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787.

Gouveneur Morris of Delaware is credited with writing the 55-word Preamble to our Constitution that begins, “We the people.” Gouveneur (his real first name) made more speeches than any other delegate at the Constitutional Convention. He was one of members of the Committee of Style that took 23 articles and consolidated them into 7 concise articles that formed the Constitution.

Preambles to legal documents were commonplace at the time of our nation’s founding. Edmund Randolph of Virginia suggested our Constitution have a preamble that explained why the government under the Articles of Confederation was not sufficient and listed the broad goals of the Constitution, “to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessing of Liberty.”

Notable Quote: “The United States Constitution has proved itself the most marvelously elastic compilation of rules of government ever written.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt.

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This Constitution Spotlight was provided by Lt. George Farragut Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.