Constitution Day (or Citizenship Day) commemorates the formation and signing of the U.S. Constitution by thirty-nine brave men on September 17, 1787, recognizing all who, are born in the U.S. or by naturalization, have become citizens.
The law establishing the holiday was created in 2004 with the passage of an amendment by Senator Robert Byrd to the Omnibus spending bill of 2004. Before this law was enacted, the holiday was known as "Citizenship Day". In addition to renaming the holiday "Constitution Day and Citizenship Day," the act mandates that all publicly funded educational institutions provide educational programming on the history of the American Constitution on that day. In May 2005, the United States Department of Education announced the enactment of this law and that it would apply to any school receiving federal funds of any kind. This holiday is not observed by granting time off work for federal employees.
No matter how much we argue about the details of its meaning today, in the opinion of many, the Constitution signed in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787 represents the greatest expression of statesmanship and compromise ever written. In just four hand-written pages, the Constitution gives us no less than the owners' manual to the greatest form of government the world has ever known.
Posters to display in our schools commemorating Constitution Day and Constitution Week have been generously donated by the Mason City, Iowa, chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
MORE INFORMATION:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_Day_(United States)
http://www.constitutionday.com
http://usgovinfo.about.com/blconstday.htm
Thank you, Founding Fathers!
Mrs. T. Reiter, K-12 Teacher Librarian
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