Background of Constitution Day

What is Constitution Day?

Constitution Day is considered to be a Federal Holiday within the United States of America, which serves to celebrate the ratification of the Constitution of the United States; Constitution Day takes place on September 17th on an annual basis – this date corresponds with the same date in 1787 on which the Constitution of the United States was ratified at the Constitutional Convention.

What is the Constitution?

The Constitution of the United States is considered to be the foremost piece of legislature with regard to the implementation and authorization of legality and lawfulness within the United States; upon its creation, the Constitution of the United States not only outlined a framework for a legislative system, but also an identifiable statute reflecting the legal guidelines imposed with regard to the relationship between the United States Federal Government and its collective citizens. The Constitution of the United States is comprised of the following components, which are collectively celebrated on Constitution Day; the Constitution of the United States is comprised of:

· 7 Articles within its text that address the legal process with regard to the establishment of the Constitution, Legislative Power, Executive Power, Judicial Power, Power granted to the States’, Amendment Process, Federal Power, and Ratification

· The Bill of Rights, which serve as the classification of the first ten Amendments passed subsequent to the ratification of the Constitution; the Bill of Rights were passed with 15 years of the Constitution’s initial ratification

· 27 Amendments, which are classified as respective adjustments to the original text of the Constitution that passed as a result of a majority approval on the part of the individual States’; the 27 Amendments also celebrated on Constitution Day include the Bill of Rights – as well as 17 subsequent Constitution Amendments

How Was Constitution Day Created?

Constitution Day came to pass as a result of the following events:

· (1911) The state of Iowa began to celebrate Constitution Day

· (1917) The Sons of the American Revolution, a social brotherhood formed a petition to substantiate Constitution Day as a National Holiday

· (1939) Newspapers began using Constitution Day as a celebration of the respective citizenship of individuals residing within the United States

· (1952) The Federal Government proposed that Constitution Day would be renamed ‘Citizenship Day’, yet continue its observance on September 17th – on an annual basis

· (2004) The passing – and recognition - ofConstitution Day as a Federal holiday took place

How is Constitution Day Celebrated?

Although Constitution Day is considered to be a Federal Holiday, in contrast to other Federal Holidays, neither Federal offices are closed, nor are public schools closed due to the observance of Constitution Day; however, schools receiving Federal funding are required to be absent of operation in observance. In the event that Constitution Day happens to take place on a weekend, the Federal policy with regard to observance requires that the respective public school remain closed on the weekday following the weekend on which Constitution Day fell.