In remembrance of the signing of the Constitution at Philadelphia on September 17, 1787, and in recognition of those Americans who strive to uphold the duties and responsibilities of citizenship, Congress – by joint resolution of February 29, 1952 -- designated September 17 as Constitution and Citizenship Day. By subsequent resolution of August 2, 1956, Congress also requested that the President proclaim the week beginning September 17 of each year as Constitution Week.

But why stop there? Why not set aside the entire month for a much-needed national conversation and debate about the history and meaning of the Constitution, its evolution and application over the almost two-and-a-quarter centuries since Philadelphia, and its interpretation today?

We need not look far for reasons sufficient to sustain such a month-long national dialogue. The ongoing contretemps over a proposed Islamic cultural and community center in Lower Manhattan, for example, has galvanized a robust public discussion of religious rights and freedoms and the equal protection of the law. But not much has been said of the fact that the Constitutional Amendments enabling these rights were not part of the original document for which the Framers are almost universally venerated. Indeed, as former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall noted in his celebrated though controversial speech marking the bicentennial anniversary of the Constitution 23 years ago, when contemporary Americans cite "The Constitution," they invoke a concept that is vastly different from what the Framers barely began to construct two centuries ago:

“[T]he government they devised was defective from the start,” Marshall noted, “requiring several amendments, a civil war, and momentous social transformation to attain the system of constitutional government, and its respect for the individual freedoms and human rights, we hold as fundamental today.”

For the benefit of our collective edification, I have reproduced below the full text of Justice Marshall’s Bicentennial Speech. I recommend it as required reading for all Americans and those who wish to better understand the remarkable history of our country.
(Hugh Hamilton)