Happy Constitution Day!

by Samantha Harris

September 18, 2006

The U.S. Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, making this year the Constitution’s 219th birthday. Educators around the country are honoring “Constitution Day” today by teaching about the Constitution, including about the adoption of the Bill of Rights (though that did not actually occur until several years later). As Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said in a statement issued Friday:
Two hundred and nineteen years later, the U.S. Constitution still has much to teach us. Its principles of freedom and fairness are still being perfected. Its once-revolutionary concepts have been much-imitated. But they must never be taken for granted.
Take a moment today to think about the astonishing document that is the Constitution and about the freedoms we have as Americans. If you want to know more about those freedoms and how to protect them, check out the many free resources offered by the government in honor of Constitution Day, as well as FIRE’s Guides to Student Rights on Campus.