September 17, 1787...It's Constitution Day.

[twyacht]

http://tolland.patch.com/articles/september-17-2011-constitution-day

September 17, 2011: Constitution Day

The U.S. Constitution provides the framework for our government - both giving it power and imposing limits on that power.  On Sept. 17, 1787 the Constitution was signed in Philadelphia by 39 delegates from the Constitutional Convention.  Constitution Day is celebrated on this day annually to commemorate one of the most important events in our nation's history. 

In honor of Constitution Day, here are five fun facts:

1. Have you ever wondered why one of Connecticut's nicknames is the "Constitution State?"  Connecticut historian John Fiske made a case that the Fundamental Orders of 1638/1639, written in Connecticut, was actually the first written constitution in our country's history.  Although some historians have found fault with Fiske's analysis, former Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, Simeon E. Baldwin, has defended Fiske's view.  Connecticut received the "Constitution State" designation by the General Assembly in 1959.

2.  The two delegates from Connecticut who signed the Constitution were William Samuel Johnson and Roger Sherman.  Sherman authored the Great Compromise (also known as the Connecticut Compromise), which is credited with saving the Constitutional Convention, and perhaps the Union.  The Great Compromise set up how the states would be represented in the Senate and the House.  Johnson is buried at Christ Episcopal Cemetery in Stratford and Sherman is buried at Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven.

3.  You may know that George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton signed the Constitution, but do you know who actually wrote it down?  Jacob Shallus, a Pennsylvanian engrosser, put quill to vellum parchment and was paid $30 (or around $726 today) for his four pages of work.

4.  The only delegate to attend every meeting during the Constitutional Convention, which lasted just less than 100 working days, was James Madison.  Madison was so eager that he arrived in Philadelphia three months before the convention even began.  The detailed notes that he wrote in his journal during the convention were kept secret until after his death.  The journal was then purchased by the government in 1837 and published in 1840.

5.  Want to celebrate Constitution Day?  You can read the Constitution (containing 4,543 words, including signatures) in its entirety here. 

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