ROCKINGHAM — With the 235th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution on Saturday, one local civic group obtained mayoral proclamations to honor the historic event.
Members of the Gen. William Henry Harrington chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution attended two municipal meetings this past week, with the mayors of those towns issuing proclamations.
Rockingham Mayor John Hutchinson presented one to chapter Historian Sharon Hutchinson — his wife — and Registrar Sarah Stogner during Tuesday’s city council meeting.
The same night, Hamlet Mayor Bill Bayless presented a proclamation to Cheryl Andrews.
According to a DAR press release:
“Constitution Week has been observed since 1955, when the service organization petitioned the U.S. Congress to dedicate September 17–23 of each year to the commemoration of Constitution Week. Congress adopted the resolution, and on August 2, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it into Public Law #915. According to DAR, the celebration’s goals are threefold: to encourage the study of the historical events that led to the framing of the Constitution in September 1787; to remind the public that the Constitution is the basis of America’s great heritage and the foundation for its way of life; and to emphasize U.S. citizens’ responsibility to protect, defend and preserve the U.S. Constitution.”
Sept. 17 is recognized as both Constitution Day and Citizenship Day.
Click here to read about presentations from the National Archives about the Constitution.
“We are so proud DAR led the way in making Constitution Week an official commemoration and our members enthusiastically promote the celebration annually in communities across the country by erecting community displays, sponsoring municipal proclamations, ringing bells and staging programs to raise awareness of the Constitution’s tenets and importance,” DAR President General Pamela Rouse Wright said in a press release. “We encourage all citizens to join us in celebrating this powerful document that is so important to American history and to reflect on the impact the Constitution has had on the lives of American citizens past and present.”
