Gov. Bill Lee has declared the week of Sept. 17-23, 2024 as Constitution Week in Tennessee.

The Constitution was signed 237 years ago on September 17, 1787 in Philadelphia Pa. at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention. The 55 delegates from 11 states, Rhode Island did not attend, began the process on May 25, 1787.  Initially they thought they could just improve the Articles of Confederation but they soon realized the Articles were too weak to be salvaged.

Drawing on numerous sources including natural law, the Bible, the Magna Carta, British Common Law and histories from Roman – Greek republics, they drafted our Constitution. On four pages of parchment, our Constitution was written. It contained the Preamble “We the People…..:”, the seven articles – structuring our government and the ten first amendments, the Bill of Rights. Thirty nine delegates from twelve states signed the constitution. However, because it had to be formally ratified by at least nine states, it wasn’t until March 4, 1789 that our government began operating under the constitution.

Our Constitution is the oldest surviving written charter of government in the world. It’s the basis for our constitutional republic. The tenets of popular sovereignty, limited government, separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism that are incorporated in the Constitution has made and continues to make our country strong and great.