By Ambassador Callista L. Gingrich and Speaker Newt Gingrich
In Philadelphia 235 years ago today, 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the U.S. Constitution. Eleven years had passed since the Declaration of Independence was adopted, and this historic event marked an important milestone for our remarkable experiment in self-government.
The signing of the U.S. Constitution was the symbolic reward for years of toil and bloodshed in the Revolutionary War. It signaled to the world that the principles of freedom, liberty, and representative government would prevail. In a more practical sense, it was the official start of our new nation’s government.
For more than 200 years, states and local governments recognized Constitution Day in various ways. It has been called “I am an American Day” and “Citizenship Day.” However, it was not federally recognized until 2004, when former Senator Robert Byrd offered the Constitution Day amendment to the fiscal year 2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act.
Along with officially observing Constitution Day nationwide, this amendment mandated that all federal employees receive training materials on the U.S. Constitution when they begin public service – and each year on September 17. more here
today is also the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, or the Battle of Sharpsburg as the Confederates called it, in 1862
the largest single day’s loss of American lives in combat w/ 7,650 American soldiers killed (National Park Service total) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Antietam