What have been the adventures of this document since it left Washington's hand? We know that the secretary of the convention, William Jackson, took this Constitution from Philadelphia to New York and delivered it to the president of the Congress on September 20, 1787. It was placed among the archives of the Congress. After the new government went into operation and the Old Congress expired, this Constitution, together with the Declaration of Independence and other papers, was placed in the hands of President Washington. In response to an act of Congress, September 15, 1789, President Washington deposited the Constitution with the Department of State. It was carried back from New York to Philadelphia when the seat of government was transferred. In 1800 the government was removed to the District of Columbia, and we presume this Constitution, with other papers, was carried down the Delaware and up Chesapeake Bay and thence to Washington. In 1814, when the Capitol and other building were burned by the British, this Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were taken from the State Department by the secretary of state, James Monroe, and temporarily stored near Leesburg, Virginia. The Constitution remained in the custody of the State Department 132 years, until September 30, 1921. It was then deposited in the Library of Congress, along with the Declaration of Independence; and since February 1924 they have been upon public view, in this gloriously beautiful hall of the Library. The Declaration of Independence hangs on the wall before me, the Constitution lies in its case, both enclosed in suitable glass that protect them from injurious light rays. I raise my eyes from the signature of George Washington and glance through the window across the plaza, and see the majestic dome of the Capitol. I see the northeastern corner of the central structure, under which lies the cornerstone laid by Washington's own hand. What a panorama of national history is unfolded when we contrast that signing day, 150 years ago, with this September day of 1937! The hopes of the founders have been realized beyond their fondest dreams. The United States created by them has become the mightiest nation of all time. Today at noon I stood at the tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon and deposited a wreath upon his sarcophagus in memory of his labors in forming the Constitution. Now I am looking at his signature. His spirit seems to be present on this memorable anniversary. We almost hear his voice, speaking in his Farewell Address: "that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence. TRAVELS OF THE CONSTITUTION 627 that that your union & brotherly affection may be perpetual the free constitution, which is the work of your own hands, may be sacredly maintained . . . that the happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete, "This free constitution, which is the work of your own hands!" How solemn these parting words of Washington! He admonishes us of this generation, that we too are makers of the Constitution. All Americans are custodians and guardians of this charter of their liberties. They can make it and unmake it. Thank God, it has come down to us in full force and effect, and we pray that it will be maintained until the last generation of mankind. I gaze down upon the Constitution, and read again the beginning of the Preamble "We the People of the United States." The lettering is bold and clear. Here is the enacting clause whereby the people create the government of the United States. It is the most momentous expression of their will that could have been made by the American people, and it is the only one that they have ever made. All laws, treaties, and acts of government, in peace and war, have been made in obedience to this supreme law ordained by the people. This Preamble not only creates the United States Government, but it sets forth the objects to which all free peoples aspire, everywhere in the world. It has lighted the pathway of liberty to many nations, and we believe that in it are found the seeds of human liberty throughout the whole earth. I ask you to go over these words with me, as I read from the original 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, 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." So mote it be! To celebrate The One hundred and fiftieth Anniversary The United States Constitution Sesquicentennial Commission and The District of Columbia Constitution Commission at the Ceremonies at which The President of The United States will deliver an Address Friday evening the seventeenth of September at nine o'clock at the Sylvan Theatre (Washington Monument) The favor of a reply is requested Informal Dress MONUMENT EXERCISES ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 629 ON THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SIGNING OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, DELIVERED AT THE SYLVAN THEATRE, WASHINGTON MONUMENT GROUNDS, WASHINGTON, D. C., SEPTEMBER 17, 1937 MY FELLOW AMERICANS: Tonight, 150 years ago, thirty-eight weary delegates to a Convention in Philadelphia signed the Constitution. Four handwritten sheets of parchment were enough to state the terms on which thirteen independent weak little republics agreed to try to survive together as one strong nation. A third of the original delegates had given up and gone home. The moral force of Washington and Franklin had kept the rest together. Those remained who cared the most; and caring most, dared most. The world of 1787 provided a perfect opportunity for the organization of a new form of government thousands of miles removed from influences hostile to it. How we then governed ourselves did not greatly concern Europe. And what occurred in Europe did not immediately affect us. Today the picture is different. Now what we do has enormous immediate effect not only among the nations of Europe but also among those of the Americas and the Far East, and what in any part of the world they do as surely and quickly affects us. In such an atmosphere our generation has watched democracies replace monarchies which had failed their people and dictatorships displace democracies which had failed to function. And of late we have heard a clear challenge to the democratic idea of representative government. We do not deny that the methods of the challengers whether they be called "communistic" or "dictatorial" or "military"-have obtained for many who live under them material things they did not obtain under democracies which they had failed to make function. Unemployment has been lessened-even though the cause is a mad manufacturing of armaments. Order prevails even though maintained by fear, at the expense of liberty and individual rights. So their leaders laugh at all constitutions, predict the copying of their own methods, and prophesy the early end of democracy throughout the world. There are thirty-nine signatures, one being of an absent delegate made by a colleague at his request. |