Jeanette Strong of the Churchill County Democrats explains the U.S. Constitution to Churchill County Middle School students on Constitution Day.
The Churchill County Democrats presented copies of the U.S. Constitution to every Churchill County Middle School seventh-grader on Sept. 17, Constitution Day.
Jeanette Strong, who was accompanied by other members, said 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention endorsed the Constitution in 1787. New Hampshire ratified the constitution on June 21, 1788, and the first Congress under the newly adopted Constitution convened in New York City on March 4, 1789. James Madison drafted the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Strong, a retired teacher and librarian, said the Constitution was written as the governing document to how the United States was going to be run. She said a previous document to the Constitution was the Articles of Confederation.
“We were a very young country,” she said. “The founders put it together to have a document to have rules to run the country.”
At the time, Strong said the United States had a weak central government, while the states had more power. She said the early document failed, so a stronger document was written.
“It's a wonderful document and they (Founding Fathers) knew the document would change over the years,” she said. “They wanted to make it flexible to change.”
More importantly, Strong said the writers didn’t want a framework that trampled on people.
Teacher Gary Jamieson said many students don’t know the Constitution and how it works.
“The students learn how freedoms are guaranteed and protected by the Constitution,” he said.
CCMS student Kenyon Wilson said as young adults it’s important to understand an individual’s rights. Likewise, student Lillian Seca said the Constitution is an important document to learn.
The copies of the Constitution were printed by the U.S. Government Printing Office.
