Constitution Day

Floor Speech

CONSTITUTION DAY -- (Senate - September 17, 2008)

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Mr. REED. Mr. President, today we celebrate the 221st anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States, the longest-living written constitution in history and the very foundation of our democracy. I thank Senator Byrd for his tireless commitment to the Constitution and to ensuring its recognition every year on Constitution Day, which he established in 2004.

Our Constitution serves as a testament to the brilliance of the Founding Fathers, who sought to create a document that would ensure that political power was derived from the people and that their rights would never be infringed upon. The Framers worked diligently over the summer of 1787 to forge a document that has persisted for more than two centuries. The Framers rightly understood that it would take hard work and compromise to establish a solid foundation for a new government that aspired to protect the liberty of all its people. A remarkably brief document, containing only seven articles, the Constitution limits the power of the government, maximizes the freedom of the people, and provides for the common good.

Although my home State of Rhode Island did not send delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, the effects of this small State on the formation of the Constitution are still felt today.

Roger Williams, whose statue stands just outside this Chamber, founded what would become the State of Rhode Island in 1636 after he was exiled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A theologian, he founded Providence Plantation on the principles of separation of church and state and religious freedom.

One hundred fifty-one years later, the Framers enshrined these same principles in the Bill of Rights. Williams and the Framers recognized that religious freedom is a natural right that had to be afforded to all people. Indeed, this freedom is one of the defining freedoms of our democracy.

I would again like to thank Senator Byrd for his dedication to honoring our Constitution and the achievements of our Founding Fathers. His devotion to this document enriches our understanding of its importance and reminds us of its essential role in our democracy. He has taken up the call to protect and defend the Constitution by ensuring that its central place in American history is not forgotten. I join him in asking all Americans to honor our great national charter today and every day.

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