HOW CONSTITUTION DAY IS COMING SEPTEMBER 17 - WE THE PEOPLE.... (1820 hits)
Constitution Day is Coming Up!
September 17 is Constitution Day/Citizenship Day, commemorating the September 17, 1787, signing of the U.S. Constitution. In recognition, Congress has mandated that every educational institution receiving federal funding hold an educational program about this seminal document. constitution (Image courtesy the National Archives and Records Administration.)
“Most of you are no doubt aware of the highly successful musical Hamilton, which tells the captivating story of the first Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, and our nation’s founding,” Secretary of Education John King said when commenting on Constitution Day.
“Among his many other contributions, Hamilton wrote most of the Federalist Papers, which argued in favor of the Constitution, something not everyone agreed was needed. The genius of the play is that it reminds us that well-meaning people with very different perspectives on how we should govern ourselves in a democracy were able to compromise and find a way to move the nation forward.”
About the Constitution, Alexander Hamilton once said, “I am convinced that this is the safest course for your liberty, your dignity, and your happiness.”
Hamilton also credited hard work and perseverance to his success, something that is applicable to all students: “Men give me credit for some genius. All the genius I have lies in this; when I have a subject in hand, I study it profoundly. Day and night it is before me. My mind becomes pervaded with it. Then the effort that I have made is what people are pleased to call the fruit of genius. It is the fruit of labor and thought.”
For those familiar with the soundtrack to the musical Hamilton, “Non-Stop” gives us a reason to study and reflect on the Constitution this day and throughout the year: