What Happened Today? September 17th

Today's event happened 225 years ago and was a major day for our country!

On September 17, 1787, the US Constitution was signed at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Constitution contains all the laws for our country and the way our government should operate. Famous signers of the Constitution were our first President, George Washington, and inventor Benjamin Franklin, who was the oldest signer at age 81.

It's hard to believe that men who lived over 200 years ago wrote out laws that are still followed to this day.  The Constitution has had 27 Amendments (or changes) over the years. The first 10 Amendments are also known as the "Bill of Rights", which includes our freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to bear arms (which means to own or carry weapons), the right to a trial by a jury, and other freedoms.  Some other Amendments gave African-Americans and all women the right to vote.

We will be studying more about this in our Social Studies government unit this quarter!