Constitution Week spotlight
On this date in 1787, the Constitution of the United States was adopted at the final meeting of the Constitutional Convention.
Colonists had been in America for well over 150 years living under British rule before demands from the monarchy led to the Declaration of Independence in 1776. An eight-year war was fought and won.
The new American government was floundering under the Articles of Confederation created more than 10 years earlier. There was no main leader. Each colony had been tasked with creating its own system of government resulting in states’ governments that were far more powerful than the central government. James Madison said, “If some very strong props are not applied, the present system will tumble to the ground.”
In the summer of 1787, 55 delegates met in Philadelphia with the goal of rewriting the Articles of Confederation. Four months later they emerged with a new form of government, one with three separate branches.
In 1955, the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution petitioned Congress with a resolution to set aside Sept. 17–23 for the observance of Constitution Week. The annual celebration was established when signed into law by President Dwight E. Eisenhower on Aug. 2, 1958. This year marks the 68th observance of Constitution Week and the 237th anniversary of that great document.
Follow along with us during Constitution Week as we highlight some of the men who framed our Constitution.
Who said it? “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the state governments are numerous and indefinite.”
A) John Dickinson, Delaware delegate
B) James Madison, Virginia delegate
C) Charles Pinckney, South Carolina delegate
This Constitution Week Spotlight was provided by Lt. George Farragut Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. For more information about DAR, please visit the chapter’s website at lgfdar.com.
Answer: b) James Madison in Federalist 45, 1788