Guest Blogger: Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH) on Celebrating Constitution Day
Rep. Robert Latta /
I have always been thankful that so many of our country’s greatest leaders and statesmen were able to be on this earth at the same time and place to draft the Constitution. As a lifelong student of history and government, we were blessed as a nation to have individuals that put self-interest and sectionalism aside to debate, argue, draft and sign the Constitution. Our Constitution has been that beacon upon the hill, that guiding star at night, and that shining city that millions of persons around the word have longed to be guided by within their own countries.
It is my privilege to have introduced House Resolution 1612 honoring the Constitution of the United States, and the freedoms and rights it has given to every American. Today, the Constitution is not read or studied by enough Americans. I am sure that many people would tell you that some early Americans got together and with the wave of the hand produced the document. I am sure it would be with disbelief to many to find out how it took four hard and acrimonious months from May to September 17, 1787, to actually bring fruition to their labor. The citizens that attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania were some of our greatest scholars of government and history; James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Robert Morris, and George Washington were just a few of these men. Madison had studied many forms of government from the ancients to the nations of his day. He reached out to others not only for their opinions but to citizens from around the country. Discussion, debate, and compromise all were the order of the Convention. (more…)