Although Sept. 17 is one of the most important days in our country’s history, it is sometimes referred to as America’s forgotten holiday.
Known as Constitution Day, Sept. 17 is the day in 1787 when 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention came together in Philadelphia to sign and ratify a radically unique document: the United States Constitution.
It was 237 years ago when our country’s founders — visionaries unlike any today — imagined a new way forward for our young country.
After the 13 original states approved the Constitution, a new nation was created, one that established to the world an unmatched form of self-government.
On Sept. 17, Americans not only commemorate the signing and ratification of the U.S. Constitution, but also celebrate Citizenship Day, when many naturalization ceremonies take place.
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, more than 17,000 new citizens will participate in over 400 naturalization ceremonies across the nation Sept. 14-23.
In San Diego, 49 individuals from 25 countries took the Oath of Allegiance on Aug. 22 to officially become U.S. citizens.
As reported in a story by KPBS, Carlota da Costa Muhlig, who was born in Brazil and became a U.S. citizen in the San Diego ceremony last month, said, “I think Americans don’t know, really, what they have. When we come here, we come with a lot of hope, a lot of expectations, and we find it better than we imagined.”
This is a poignant reminder of the freedoms so many of us take for granted.
Teach the Children
In 1956, Congress expanded on the recognition of Sept. 17 as Citizenship Day and Constitution Day, and requested that the President of the United States proclaim the entire week of Sept. 17-23 as Constitution Week, which we celebrate each year.
This gives added opportunity for educators, and families, to discuss and review the vision of our founders.
During this time, the U.S. Department of Education encourages “federal, state and local officials, as well as leaders of civic, social, and educational organizations, to conduct ceremonies and programs that bring together community members to reflect on the importance of active citizenship, recognize the enduring strength of our Constitution, and reaffirm our commitment to the rights and obligations of citizenship in this great nation.”
According to the Department of Education, each educational institution that receives federal funds is required to hold an educational program about the U.S. Constitution for its students on Sept. 17 (or as close to Sept. 17 if it falls on a weekend).
The website offers an extensive list of resources and sample lesson plans for teachers, organized by grade level.
Resources that help teach our children about the importance of our Constitution are plentiful, some for families and some for educators.
A lesson titled “Unite or Die: How Thirteen States Became a Nation” is ideal for parents who want to teach their younger children about the origins of our country’s freedoms.
As former president Ronald Reagan is reported to have said, “All great change in America begins at the dinner table.”
For educators, the San Diego County Office of Education offers several links that can help students better appreciate the remarkable creation of our unique form of democracy.
At the county office link, Teach Democracy, more civics education in schools and in homes is encouraged.
The mission of Teach Democracy is to inspire “lifelong civic engagement through interactive programs and resources for teachers and youth, because our democracy depends on informed participation by all,” to ensure that “all young people become lifelong, knowledgeable and confident participants in our democracy.”
The National Constitution Center is another resource for classroom lessons and activities, and for at-home content for learners of all ages.
That includes adults — many of whom have forgotten, ignored or never understood — the genius of these 39 men who had the foresight to envision a country that granted its citizens the right to freely elect those who govern over us.
Our Country’s Future
The Constitution does not stand alone. Together with the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, which contains the first 10 all-important amendments to the Constitution, these three documents are known collectively as the Charters of Freedom.
The original Charters of Freedom, considered instrumental to the establishment of the principles of freedom and rights that guide the United States, are housed in Washington, D.C. at the National Archives. This link provides a transcript of each of the documents.
The words expressed so eloquently in the Declaration of Independence — that all individuals are created equal and are endowed with certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; and that to secure these rights, government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed — are a cornerstone of our democracy.
As school lessons in civics give way to a laser-like focus instead on test scores, we risk losing the precious opportunity to convey to future generations the monumental significance of these documents that specify guarantees to personal liberty.
All of us, not just children, need to be reminded of what makes the founding of our country so unique, giving us unparalleled rights and liberties unlike any other nation before.
On the closing day of the convention in 1787, Benjamin Franklin said, “I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such, because I think a central government is necessary for us … I doubt too whether any other Convention we can obtain may be able to make a better Constitution.”
The Choice Is Ours
As we approach what many believe to be the most critical election in our nation’s history, we are poised to reaffirm the tenets of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which reject tyranny, monarchy and autocracy in favor of true democratic values.
Or not. On Nov. 5 the choice is ours.
The preamble to the U.S. Constitution states in remarkable simplicity the essence of our country’s foundational principles, presented here as originally written:
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
Let’s never forget what occurred here 237 years ago and how these founders chartered a new path forward that has been a beacon of light for all nations and all peoples around the world.
Opinion columnist and education writer Marsha Sutton can be reached at suttonmarsha@gmail.com.
