Constitution Week Sept. 17-23

The Northeast State Office of Student Life invites you to celebrate Constitution Week, Sept. 17-23.  The United States Constitution stands as a testament to the tenacity of Americans throughout history to maintain their liberties, freedoms and inalienable rights.

Here are a few fast facts about the Constitution.

• Constitution Day is celebrated on September 17th, the anniversary of the day the frames signed the document. (September 17, 1787).
• The U.S. Constitution has 4,400 words.
• It is the oldest and shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world.
• Norway’s comes in second and was codified in 1814.
• The Constitution was drafted in Philadelphia in 1787 over the course of 100 days during a humid summer. The windows of Independence Hall were shut to discourage eavesdroppers, and many delegates, who were mostly from out of town, wore and re-wore the same thick woolen garments day after day.
• Nowhere in the Constitution is the US called a democracy. In fact, the founding  fathers thought that a direct democracy was a dangerous form of government that privileged the sentiment of the majority over the rights of the minority.  Instead, the Constitution frames the US as a republic, where citizens elect representatives to make decisions for them rather than voting on decisions directly.

For more information, contact Student Life at 423.354.2416.