AREQUIPA, Peru – With its seven articles and 27 amendments, the United States Constitution is the oldest in force in the world.
It was adopted in its original form on September 17, 1787 by the Constitutional Convention. from PhiladelphiaPennsylvania, and then ratified by the people through conventions in each state. This Tuesday, the supreme law of the United States is celebrating its 237th anniversary.
It wasn’t until 2004 that it became an official federal holiday called Constitution Day, with the passage of a law changing the day to September 17.
The change came with an amendment to the Omnibus spending bill, added by West Virginia Democratic Senator Robert Byrd. It requires all publicly funded educational institutions and all federal agencies implement educational programs on the history of the American Constitution on that day.
Although it is the oldest in force and one of the most robust in terms of democratic values and principles of freedom, it is curiously also one of the shortest when compared to other current ones. In fact, in its original form the text did not exceed 4,500 words.
The US Constitution is also notable for containing important ideals such as popular sovereignty; limited government by individual rights; separation of powers (legislative, executive, and judicial); checks and balances so that no one branch of government exercises undue power over another; judicial review that can strike down laws and actions as unconstitutional; and federalism that balances the powers and rights of the states in relation to the national government.
James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, is considered the “father of the Constitution” because he presented his draft bill as the first representative to the convention in May 1787.
The text was written by Jacob Shallus, a clerk in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, who was paid $30, the equivalent of about $1,000 today.
Another curiosity concerning the Constitution is that two of its founders could not sign it due to international commitments, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who would become over time presidents of the United States.
Since 1954, the original copy of the Constitution has been on display at the National Archives in Washington, DC.
