So—yay!—it’s Constitution Day, a little-known federal holiday during which all good Americans are supposed to celebrate the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia back in 1787. (The document still had to be ratified by the states in order to become law.) I’d venture to say most Americans don’t know the holiday even exists, and rarely celebrate it if they do.
Some reasons why:
Fourth of July is more fun.
Fourth of July falls in the middle of summer, not the waning days of summer.
Americans love to give their opinions on the Constitution, but they don’t really know much about its origins.
Here’s how you can rectify that sad state of affairs right quick: Check out the book Denise and I wrote about the Signers of the U.S. Constitution. That title is Signing Their Rights Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the U.S. Constitution.
Shortly after, you ought to check out some other books about the Constitution I recommended in a recent post for Shepherd.com, the book recommendation site.
If you’re interested in learning about the creation of the U.S. Constitution you can check out my list here.
If you want to go deeper, and explore articles on the U.S. Constitution contributed by other authors, you should check out Shepherd’s bookshelf on U.S. Constitution titles.
Image of the National Archives (above) by little old me.