Our Nation's first President, George Washington, referred to the Constitution as "the guide which I never will abandon." President Thomas Jefferson, one of the Founding Fathers, described the Constitution as "the result of the collected wisdom of our country."
During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln warned Americans to "never interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties."
Later, President Calvin Coolidge said that "to live under the American Constitution is the greatest political privilege that was ever accorded to the human race." And President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who led our Nation through World War II and out of the Great Depression, stated that "the United States Constitution has proven itself the most marvelously elastic compilation of rules of government ever written."
But my favorite quote about our Nation's Constitution belongs to West Virginia's own Senator Robert C. Byrd: "Our Constitution embodies the vision of the Framers, their dream of freedom, supported by the genius of practical structure which has come to be known as checks and balances and separation of powers. But we cannot defend and protect this dream if we are ignorant of the Constitution's history and how it works. Ignorance is ultimately the worst enemy of the people who want to be free."
Sen. Byrd knows how important this document is; he keeps a well-worn copy of the Constitution in his pocket and refers to it in all types of situations, from the Senate floor to backyard barbecues. In 2004, Sen. Byrd authored legislation designating September 17 as Constitution Day and requiring schools that receives federal money to teach about the Constitution on September 17, the day the document was adopted in 1787.
While it may not have the fireworks or fanfares of the Fourth of July, Constitution Day marks an event of equal importance. Given its long and much-celebrated history of success, it is only appropriate that we celebrate the Constitution and the day on which the efforts of our Forefathers came to fruition just as we mark the day our Nation declared its independence.
In honor of Constitution Day, my office is offering all Third District residents who, like Sen. Byrd, understand that the Constitution, as enduring as it has been, is only as strong as the support of the citizens it represents, free copies of the U.S. Constitution. To receive your copy, contact my Washington, DC office at (202) 225-3425 or email me at nrahall@mail.house.gov.
The Constitution is a living, breathing work of art, which protects and preserves the liberty that defines our Nation. Today, more than 200 years after its ratification, this historic document, which contains the fundamental laws of the United States, continues to bring us closer- through compromise and self-correction-to "a more perfect union." I encourage all West Virginians to join me, Senator Byrd, and all Americans in celebrating Constitution Day and the joyous freedoms enshrined in it by our Founding Fathers.
