Please remember our Constitution during this time

Dear Editor:

For 231 years the United States Constitution has stood as the binding document of our nation giving guidance for the formation of our laws. “On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the document, and it was subsequently agreed that government under the U.S. Constitution would begin on March 4, 1789. In June, Virginia ratified the Constitution, followed by New York in July.” To honor this document, the Daughters of the American Revolution celebrate our Constitution annually, Sept. 17-23. This public observance was initiated in 1955.

Created by our founders, the Constitution was crafted in such a manner that it could grow and develop as its citizens needed. A deliberate and legal process for amending this document was provided by those who crafted it. These amendments allowed for the Constitution to remain relevant to the citizenry as times changed. This made the Constitution a powerful tool. When it came time for Senators to be elected by the states’ citizens rather than the states’ legislators, the 17th amendment was enacted. The 22nd amendment limited the service of a president to two terms or no more than 10 years. From 1804 to 1865, there were no amendments added to the Constitution. The last Constitutional amendment (27th) was ratified in 1992 and first proposed in 1789. This is a testament to the fortitude of our Constitution. No amendment is acted upon hastily and change is given much thought and consideration with debate by all.

Over time, citizens find freedom in the Constitution. Frederick Douglass in 1851 saw the Constitution as a document for freedom. As written by the historian Philip Foner, “Douglass stated that recent presidential administrations had led the government away from its founding ideals. It was therefore the duty of every American citizen to use the Constitution and political processes at their disposal to bring the country in line with its founding intent.”

This is the duty of every citizen. We are to know our constitution, understand our duties to support and change it so that the preamble stays relevant, and celebrate that we have rights under this Constitution.

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence [sic], promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Please remember our Constitution during this time. Remember that we need the words of our Constitution. I encourage you to read the document fully. Talk about it. Grow in your understanding of it.

Sincerely,

Sue Crites Szosak

Member of the Poplar Bluff

Chapter of the Daughters of the

American Revolution