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On Sept. 17, 1787, 39 delegates at Independence Hall in Philadelphia signed the U.S. Constitution.
Philadelphians were left in the dark on the delegations for some time and didn’t at first understand what the document signing meant, said Lane Norris, a Once Upon a Nation storyteller.
However, Norris said one Philadelphia woman, Elizabeth Powell, was determined to find out. She asked around and found her answer in Benjamin Franklin — who was one of the signers of the Constitution.
“Elizabeth Powell asked Benjamin Franklin the simplest yet most important question: What government had he just helped to draft?” Norris said.
“And Dr. Franklin tells Elizabeth and the world that we the people will not have a monarchy, but a republic. A republic built on three branches of government: the executive, a Congress, and the Supreme Court.”
The document, which is still the “supreme law of the land” and the framework of American government, has continued to preside over U.S. law and government since its signing.
“In 1787, the United States was a republic, but far from a perfect one,” he said. “But this brand new Constitution lays the foundation for building a new nation and an ever more perfect union for all its citizens.”
Two important documents came before the Constitution.
The Declaration of Independence was a formal declaration of grievances against the King of England designed to justify separation from British rule. It was signed in 1776 and was the first document to refer to the colonies as the United States of America.
The Articles of Confederation was America’s first charter of government for the first 13 states in 1777. But over time, many Americans expressed that the document had created a weak, ineffective central government.
From there, delegates met to decide how to move forward with a new document.
“The Constitutional Convention happened in Philadelphia in 1787,” said Jenna Winterle Kehres, the associate vice president of museum experience at the National Constitution Center. “Over the course of the summer, the delegates debated and argued, compromised and then eventually came together and created the governing document that we know today.”
The U.S. Constitution features a preamble and seven articles essential to the U.S. government.
“‘We the people’ is kind of like the mission statement of the Constitution, so I think it really clearly defines what the Constitution is going to do,” she said. “Create this government, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense. I think starting with those three words, ‘We the People,’ shows exactly what the Constitution is: it’s a government created by the people and it’s for the people.”
The first three articles establish the three branches of government: the legislative branch (Congress), the executive branch (president and their office) and the judicial branch (federal court system). The remaining articles detail the amendment and ratification process, declare that federal law is superior and explain the states’ powers toward each other and the federal government.
The signing of the Constitution was historic in that it created a government that no country had ever seen before.
Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’ Connor said the document was concise and had a unique vision of freedom. She emphasized this was the first time citizens were allowed to select their own form of government – and put that government in the hands of the people.
Modern-day impact
This document has remained the U.S. governing charter for almost 250 years.
“While everything kind of began in 1787 with that first signing, I think we, as future generations, also kind of signed the Constitution ourselves by putting our mark on it,” Winterle Kehres said.
She said part of what has made it so successful is its flexibility over time, in terms of amendments and ratification.
“That amendment process, the fact that it can grow, it can change, it can respond to the needs of each generation, and each generation can change it — I think is what has made it last over time,” she said.
The first Signing of the Constitution will be the subject of this weekend’s Philly ‘Firstival,’
Kat Black, an artist based between Philly and Mexico, created this week’s firstival statue. She said she was inspired by the U.S. Constitution Center’s exhibits and 250th anniversary elements.
“They have this cool room in the Constitution Center that has these life-sized statues of all of the men together in one room and it looks like they’re all talking and discussing all the things they want to put in the Constitution,” she said.
“So I took all those photos, made them into silhouettes and then added a few more elements like the actual hand signing of the Constitution, there’s the map again and the colonies and the men sitting at the table and I decided to put half of them in red and half of them in blue.”
This week’s Firstival will feature family-friendly activities, a fife and drum performance, an appearance by a Benjamin Franklin reenactor and personal copies of the U.S. Constitution.
It will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the National Constitution Center at 525 Arch St.
Below is more info on all of this year’s Firstivals – including where you can find this upcoming Saturday’s Firstival dates and location.
Completed
Week 1: Successful balloon flight in America (1793)
Week 2: The Mummers parade, the nation’s first folk parade (1901)
Week 3: Volunteer fire company (1736)
Week 4: Professional basketball league (1898)
Week 5: Public Girl Scout cookie sale (1932)
Week 6: African Methodist Episcopal congregation (1794)
Week 7: Abolitionist society in America (1775)
Week 8: Authentic Chinese gate built in America (1984)
Week 9: Public protest against slavery in America (1688)
Week 10: Flower Show (1829)
Week 11: Women’s medical college (1850)
Week 12: Matchbook (1892)
Week 13: Medical school (1765)
Week 14: Stadium (1895)
Week 15: Circus performance (1793)
Week 16: Botanical garden (1728)
Week 17: Postmaster (1737)
Week 18: American-made piano and sousaphone (1775 and 1893)
Week 19: Mother’s Day (1908)
Week 20: Hospital in America (1751)
Week 21: World’s Fair on American soil (1876)
Week 22: Steamboat for passengers and freight (1787)
Week 23: American flag (1777)
Week 24: U.S. Army (1775)
Week 25: Annual Reminder demonstration (1965)
Week 26: Paper maker in America (1690)
Week 27: Bank of the United States (1791)
Week 28: Organized baseball team (1831)
Week 29: Ice cream soda (Oct. 1874)
Week 30: American art school (1805)
Week 31: Scientific Society of Natural History (1812)
Week 31: Zoo in America (1874)
Week 32: U.S. Mint (1793)
Week 33: Selfie (1839)
Week 34: Slinky (1943)
Upcoming
• Signing of the Constitution (1787)
Sept. 5, National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St.
• Continental Congress (1774)
Sept. 12 at Carpenters’ Hall, 320 Chestnut St.
• Naming of the United States (1776)
Sept. 19, Independence Hall
• Ronald McDonald House (1974)
Sept. 26, Ronald McDonald House, 3925 Chestnut St.
• Penitentiary in America (1829)
Oct. 3, Eastern State Penitentiary, 2027 Fairmount Ave.
• The First Peoples
Oct. 10, Penn Museum, 3260 South St.
• U.S. Navy and Marine Corps (1775)
Oct. 17, Arch Street Meeting House, 320 Arch St.
• Public showing of a motion picture (1870)
Oct. 24, Philadelphia Film Society, 1412 Chestnut St.
• Modern detective story written (1841)
Oct. 31, Edgar Allan Poe House, 532 N. 7th St.
• Thanksgiving Day parade in America (1920)
Nov. 7, Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, 101 S. Independence Mall East
• University in America (1740)
Nov. 14, Houston Hall, The University of Pennsylvania, 3417 Spruce St.
• Children’s hospital in America (1855)
Nov. 21, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Main Building, 3401 Civic Center Blvd.
• Pencil with an attached eraser (1858)
Nov. 28, National Liberty Museum, 321 Chestnut St.
• Weather bureau (1870)
Dec. 5, The Franklin Institute, 222 N. 20th St.
• Electronic computer (1945)
Dec. 12, The University of Pennsylvania, 3451 Walnut St.
• Public lending library in America (1731)
Dec. 19, The Library Company of Philadelphia, 1314 Locust St.
• Philly food firsts: Cheesesteaks (1930s), water ice (1932) and bubble gum (1928)
Dec. 26, Reading Terminal Market, 1136 Arch St.
