Mike Parker: Ring the Bells to honor the U.S. Constitution.

On Thursday, September 17, the Moseley-Bright Chapter of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution will host a public bell ringing event to commemorate the signing of the United States Constitution.

This event will begin at 3:45 p.m. on the front lawn of Harmony Hall at 109 E. King Street in Kinston. At 4:00 p.m., everyone gathered will ring a bell for one minute. This NSDAR National Event, Bells Across America, is held each year.

Constitution Week honors the signing of the Constitution of the United States of America. On September 17, 1787, delegates signed the Constitution at the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall, in Philadelphia.

Thirty-nine delegates signed the Constitution, representing 12 of the 13 states. Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania was the oldest delegate to sign at 81, and Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey was the youngest to sign at 26.

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America.

In 1955, the President General of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, Gertrude S. Carraway - a native of New Bern – adopted a project to promote the observance of the U.S. Constitution with a memorial week beginning on the anniversary of the signing of this document, September 17.

Ms. Carraway asked DAR chapters, committees, and members to study, teach, and discuss the U.S. Constitution. The DAR petitioned the U.S. Congress to dedicate September 17-23 annually for the observance of Constitution Week. Congress adopted the resolution. On August 2, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Public Law #915.

The original signed, handwritten Constitution is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Constitution was adopted in response to problems under the Articles of Confederation. For years, James Madison of Virginia had studied history and political theory as he searched for a solution to the political and economic dilemmas he saw plaguing America. His labors convinced him of the futility and weakness of confederacies of independent states.

Madison was convinced that America’s government under the Articles of Confederation had to be replaced. These Articles, in force since 1781, had served to establish a “league of friendship.” The Articles served essentially as a constitution for the 13 sovereign and independent states after the Revolution. But Madison saw the Articles as woefully inadequate.

With the states retaining considerable power, the central government, he believed, had insufficient power to regulate commerce. It could not tax and was generally impotent in setting commercial policy. The Articles also meant American states could not effectively support a war effort. The national government had little power to settle quarrels between states.

Many states, saddled with weak government, were on the brink of economic disaster. The evidence was overwhelming. Congress was attempting to function with a depleted treasury. Paper money was flooding the country, creating extraordinary inflation. In some areas, a pound of tea cost $100. The depressed condition of business was taking its toll on many small farmers. Some of them were thrown in jail for debt. Numerous farms were confiscated and sold for taxes.

On May 25, 1787, a meeting began at the Pennsylvania State House. Guards stood at the entrances to keep the curious at a distance. Robert Morris of Pennsylvania opened the proceedings by nominating George Washington for the presidency of the Constitutional Convention. The vote was unanimous. Then months of contentious debate followed.

In the early days of September, with the exhausted delegates anxious to return home, compromise came easily. On September 8, the convention was ready to turn the Constitution over to a Committee of Style and Arrangement. The convention presented the Constitution on September 12, and the delegates methodically began to consider each section.

Although close votes followed concerning several articles, the grueling work of the convention that historic summer of 1787 was reaching its end.

On September 17, the members met for the last time. After weeks of intense pressure and debate, they adopted the document. Delegates then shared a farewell dinner at City Tavern. Two blocks away on Market Street, printers John Dunlap and David Claypoole worked into the night on the final imprint of the six-page Constitution.

Copies of the U.S. Constitution would leave Philadelphia on the morning stage. The debate over the nation’s form of government was now set for the larger arena.

The DAR urges Americans to learn more about the Constitution and celebrate this powerful document, which culminated the efforts to form “a more perfect union.”

Bring your own bell to ring at Historic Harmony Hall on Thursday, September 17. Remember: Be there by 3:45 p.m. Bell ringing begins promptly at 4 p.m.

Mike Parker is a columnist for the Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.