Tuesday marks Constitution Day in the United States, the 232nd anniversary of the signing of the Constitution in 1787. Originating in 1940 with a congressional joint resolution, the holiday was first celebrated on the third Sunday in May. Congress later moved the date to September 17 to commemorate the Constitution’s signing.
In 2004, it became known as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, honoring both the founding document and everyone who has attained American citizenship.
After the Revolutionary War, the Articles of Confederation left the U.S. federal government weak, without enough ability to manage the federal debt or maintain a national army. Madison was an advocate for a strong federal government, and he presented his founding ideas to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in what was called the “Virginia Plan.”
Who Is the Father of the Constitution?
The three-branch “Virginia Plan” became the foundation of the Constitution, Madison played a leading role in the ratification process, and he drafted the Bill of Rights. For these reasons and more, he became known as the father of the Constitution.
However, toward the end of his life, he stated that the Constitution “ought to be regarded as the work of many heads and many hands.”
Initially, according to the Constitution Center, Madison was leery about listing individual rights because it could possibly limit rights that weren’t listed. However, he penned the Bill of Rights once it was clear it was necessary to get the Constitution ratified.
Madison was born in 1751 in Virginia, and over 30 years later co-authored another important document, the Federalist Papers. Alongside former Secretary of State Alexander Hamilton, Madison penned 29 essays in favor of the Constitution.
Before becoming president, he served as former President Thomas Jefferson’s secretary of state. When the Constitutional Congress convened in Philadelphia in 1780, he was the youngest delegate, according to the Constitution Center.
Madison’s face appears on the rare $5,000 bill. According to the Constitution Center, these bills are so hard to find that one in very good condition was purchased at an auction in 2010 for more than $100,000.
Who Signed the Constitution?
On September 17, 1787, 39 delegates signed the Constitution, identified as:
William Samuel Johnson, ConnecticutRoger Sherman, ConnecticutRichard Bassett, DelawareGunning Bedford, Jr. , DelawareJacob Broom, DelawareJohn Dickinson, DelawareGeorge Read, DelawareWilliam Few, GeorgiaAbraham Baldwin, GeorgiaDaniel Carroll, MarylandDaniel Jenifer, MarylandJames Mchenry, MarylandNathaniel Gorham, MassachusettsRufus King, MassachusettsNicholas Gilman, New HampshireJohn Langdon, New HampshireAlexander Hamilton, New YorkDavid Brearley, New JerseyJonathan Dayton, New JerseyWilliam Livingston, New JerseyWilliam Paterson, New JerseyWilliam Blount, North CarolinaHugh Williamson, North CarolinaRichard Dobbs Spaight, North CarolinaGeorge Clymer, PennsylvaniaThomas Fitzsimons, PennsylvaniaBenjamin Franklin, PennsylvaniaJared Ingersoll, PennsylvaniaThomas Mifflin, PennsylvaniaGouverneur Morris, PennsylvaniaRobert Morris, PennsylvaniaJames Wilson, PennsylvaniaPierce Butler, South CarolinaCharles Pinckney, South CarolinaCharles Cotesworth Pinckney, South Carolina,John Rutledge, South CarolinaJohn Blair, VirginiaJames Madison, Jr. , VirginiaGeorge Washington, Virginia
Although signatures were first put on the document in September, it wasn’t until June 1788 that it got the nine states necessary for ratification. Noticeably absent from the Constitution’s signatories were Jefferson and former President John Adams. At the time, Jefferson was in France serving as an ambassador and Adams was representing America in Great Britain.
George Read, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, George Clymer and James Wilson were the only six men to sign both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
