Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1923-09-27
Constitution Day" Should Be One
National Day Observed Every Year
SEVENTEENTH OF SEPTEMBER
SHOULD BE CELEBRATED BY
PEOPLE OF UNITED STATES

The seventeenth day of September
ought to be celebrated in solemn and
dignified manner every year by the
people of the United States 1t was on
that day, in the year 1897, that the
Constitution of the United States was
signed by the members of the Federal
Convention, which, by strange and
happy coincidence, met in Indepen-
dence Hall, Philadelphia where a few
years previously the Declaration of
independence had been signed
The names of the far-seeing and
patriotic men who devised our Con.
stitution, and bravely affixed their
signatures to that famous document,
ought to be well known and highly
revered in every household in this
fortunate land. 1t is freely admitted
throughout the world that no greater
instrument has ever been devised
since the dawn of history.
The president of the constitutional
convention was General George Wash
ington, the most illustrious member
OF that body
A total of 70 delegates were named
to attend the convention Some of
them never accepted the appointment
or acted in any way. Some took their
seats in the convention but refused
RI c;o,, tba o0v,y,Ia+,1d 7oo,,,,,ox,+
few delegates who participated in
the formation of the Constitution
were not present on the last day of
the convention, so failed to sign. A
few doubling Thomases peevishly
withdrew from the convention pack
ed their grips and hiked home, be-
cause they thought the convention
was exceeding its powers.
THE sIGNERs
The following SO men actually sign
ed the Constitution:
New Hampshire John Langdon
and Nicholas Gilman.
Massachusetts, Nathaniel Gorham
and Rufus King.
Connecticut William Samuel John
son and Roger Sherman.
New York Alexander Hamilton
New Jersey William Livingston,
David Brearley, William Patterson
and Jonathan Dayton.
Pennsylvania Benjamin Franklin,
M
George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons,
Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson and
Gouverneur Morris.
Delaware George Read, Cunning
Bedford, Jr John Dickinson, Richard
Bassett and Jacob Broom
Maryland James McHenry, Daniel
of st. Thomas Jenifer and Daniel Car
roll.
Virginia George Washington, John
Blair and James Madison
North Carolina William Blount,
Richard Dobbs Spaight and Hugh VIII
Hanson.
South Carolina John Rutledge,
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney,
Charles Pinckney and Pierce Butler.
Georgia William Few and Abra
ham Baldwin
THOSE WHO DIDN'T SIGN
The 18 delegates who failed to ac-
cept the appointment or act in any
way were: Benjamin West and John
Pickering, of New Hampshire; Fran
els Dana, of Massachusetts; John
Nelson and Abraham Clark, of New
Jersey; Robert Hanson Harrison,
Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Thomas
Stone, Thomas Sim Lee and Gabriel
Duvall, of Maryland; Patrick Henry,
Richard Henry Lee and Thomas Mel
son, of Virginia; Richard Caswell
and Willie Jones Of North Carolina;
Henry Lawrens of South Carolina;
and George Walton and Nathaniel
Pendleton, of Georgia.
The eleven delegates who took part
in the convention, but failed to sign
on account of being absent on the
last day were: Caleb Strong, of Mass
achusetts; Oliver Ellsworth, of Con-
necticut; William Churchill Houston
of New Jersey; John Francis Mercer
and Luther Martin, of Maryland;
George Wythe and James McClurg,
of Virginia; Alexander Martin and
William Richardson Davie, of North
Carolina, and William Pierce and Will
liam Houston, of Georgia.
The three who refused to sign were
Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts;
and Edmund Randolph and George
Mason of Virginia.
The two delegates who kicked over
the traces and withdrew from the