Constitution Week Is Sept. 17-23

Sept. 17-23, marks the 69th year the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) will celebrate Constitution Week. On Sept. 17, 1787, the delegates of the Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution. As these delegates were leaving the Pennsylvania State House church bells were rung. To honor the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, the Smith-McMillan Chapter of DAR will host a Bells Across America ceremony.

Constitution Week began in 1955 when the President General of the DAR, Gertrude S. Carroway, adopted a project to promote the observance of the U. S. Constitution with a memorial week beginning on the anniversary of the signing of this document, Sept. 17. The DAR petitioned the U. S. Congress to dedicate Sept. 17-23 of each year to the the commemoration of Constitution Week. Congress adopted the resolution, and on Aug. 2, 1956, President Dwight D Eisenhower signed it into Public Law #915. The celebration’s goals are threefold: to encourage the study of the historical events that led to the framing of the Constitution in Sept. 1787; to remind the public that the Constitution is the basis of America’s great heritage and the foundation for its way of life; and to emphasize U.S. citizens’ responsibility to protect, defend and preserve the U.S. Constitution.

DAR’s Constitution Hall is the only structure dedicated as a memorial to the U. S. Constitution. The inscription on the pediment reads, “Constitution Hall - a memorial to that immortal document, the Constitution of the United States, in which are incorporated the principles of freedom, equality and justice for which our forefathers strove.”

The Smith-McMillan DAR Chapter invites everyone to join in the celebration of Bells Across America on Tuesday, Sept. 17. The ceremony will begin at 2:45 p.m. on the Fayette County Courthouse lawn. The Honorable Judge Dan Mueller will read the Constitution Week Proclamation, DAR members will share a few interesting facts about the Constitution, everyone will recite the Preamble of the Constitution, and then at 3 p.m. we will proudly ring our bells for one minute.

Please join in this celebration. Bring your bells or use one supplied and feel free to wear red, white and blue. All area churches are also invited to ring their bell for one minute at 3 p.m.