Signers of the Constitution: Historic Places Commemorating the Signing of the Constitution
National Park Service. 1976. Signers of the Constitution: Historic Places Commemorating the Signing of the Constitution. National Historic Landmark Theme Studies. National Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings. Washington, D.C.
For generations the people of the United States have revered the Constitution— and rightly so. It has provided an enduring and evolving framework for almost 190 years of national development. In some respects, it reflects the time of its creation, for it incorporates basic American tenets of the 18th century. These include the theory of the state as a compact between the people and the government and the idea that fundamental laws should be written. The Constitution also reaffirms the strong belief in the traditional rights of Englishmen to the protection of life, liberty, and property that Americans defended in their rebellion against Britain. Above all, the document expresses, both in its provisions and in the process by which they were formulated, the Founding Fathers' abiding faith in man's willingness to reason—his ability to surmount political differences by means of rational discussion and compromise. Men sometimes disagree over the meaning of specific provisions of the instrument, but within its broad outlines and mechanisms for compromise lie means to reconcile disagreements. The Constitution expresses the concerns of a past age, yet it is the embodiment of a spirit and a wisdom as modern as tomorrow.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- National Park Service
- Date of Issue
- 1976
- Units
- FEHA , GEWA , HAGR , HIST , INDE
- Keywords
- constitution, ehistory, historic places, National Historic Landmark, Signers of the Constitution, theme study