by Miss Amanda

Yesterday, September 17th, was Constitution Day. September 17 marks the anniversary of the US Constitution being written, signed and approved in 1787. It was signed by 39 men who changed the world. Remembering Constitution Day is a great way we can share their legacy with all Americans, new and old!
Here are some facts about the US Constitution:

1. The U. S Constitution was written in the same Pennsylvania State House where the Declaration of Independence was signed and where George Washington received his commission as Commander of the Continental Army. Now called Independence Hall, the building still stands today on Independence Mall in Philadelphia, directly across from the National Constitution Center.
2. 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.
3. The U.S. Constitution was prepared in secret, behind locked doors that were guarded by sentries.
4. Some of the original framers and many delegates in the state ratifying conventions were very troubled that the original Constitution lacked a description of individual rights. In 1791, Americans added a list of rights to the Constitution. The first ten amendments became known as The Bill of Rights
5. Of the 55 delegates attending the Constitutional Convention, 39 signed and 3 delegates dissented. Two of America’s “founding fathers” didn’t sign the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson was representing his country in France and John Adams was doing the same in Great Britain.
6. 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.
7. Of the written national constitutions, the U.S. Constitution is the oldest and shortest.
8. At 81, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania was the oldest delegate at the Constitutional Convention and at 26, Jonathon Dayton of New Jersey was the youngest.
9. The original Constitution is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, it was moved to Fort Knox for safekeeping.
10. 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.

Used from Constitution Day

During Constitution Week (September 17th-25th) we will be sharing projects you can do that will help you learn more about the Constitution and what it means to be a Citizen of the United States of America. Be sure to stop by daily to see what neat project we will have for you to do!
If you would like to join us with these projects, please grab the graphic below and proudly display it on your site:

Please sign the Linky to your posts so that others may read and see how you celebrated Constitution Week! Leave us a comment when you display the graphic and we look forward to seeing your projects! These are great projects to do for your home school too!

Here are the Assignments:

US Constitution Week: The Preamble

US Constitution Week: The Three Branches

US Constitution Week: Vocabulary List and Signers

US Constitution Week: The Constitution

Thank you to Miss Amanda for the work she has done on these assignments!

Miss Amanda is a 19yo homeschool college student, and oldest of 8 children. She is chief errand runner, grocery menu maker and shopper, laundry queen, and organizational gal. She enjoys secretarial work, site designing, movies, and blogging. She will remain home until the Lord brings her Man of Steel. Find out more at The Daily Planet.

You are welcome to print off the States Exploration US History Assignments for your own personal use, but not for publication, unless you are an active participant in our Assignments, and only to be published to a personal blog.

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Tags: amendments, assignments, Benjamin Franklin, Bill of Rights, Congress, Constitution Week, Constitutional Convention, George Washington, home school, Independence Hall, John Adams, Jonathon Dayton, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, projects, The US Constitution, Thomas Jefferson

This entry was posted on Friday, September 19th, 2008 at 1:47 pm and is filed under The US Constitution. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.