On the recordSeptember 17, 2014
Today we commemorate the 227th birthday of the Constitutional Convention and the creation of America's most cherished document--our Constitution. Today is Constitution Day. On September 17, 1787, our Founding Fathers, 39 brave Americans, created a document that to this day is the foundation of our country and is admired by people around the world. The British statesman William Gladstone said of our Constitution: The American Constitution is, so far as I can see, the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man. I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. The Framers established a new form of government that for the first time respected the rights of the individual. No longer would a king or dictator rule over their citizens. The power of the government would derive from the consent of the governed. Responsibility of good governance is not just placed on the political leaders but on the participation of those citizens who have voted for them. Benjamin Franklin, when asked outside of Independence Hall by a curious woman as to what sort of government was created: A republic, ma'am, if you dare keep it. ____________________
