Fun Facts About the Constitution of the United States

Fun Fact: “The United States Constitution has 4440 words. It is the oldest and shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world today. The most glaring spelling error is Pennsylvania. It was spelled Pensylvania. The Constitution was penned by Jacob Shallus, a Pennsylvania General Assembly clerk for $30.00

Fun Fact: “The Pennsylvania State House (where the Constitutional Convention took place: was where George Washington was appointed the commander of the Continental Army in 1775 and where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. It is also where the Articles of Confederation were adopted as our first Constitution in 1781. Today the Pennsylvania State House is known as Independence Hall, in Philadelphia.”

Fun Fact: James Madison was the only delegate to attend every meeting. He took detailed notes of the various discussions and debates, which took place during the convention. The journal he kept during the Constitutional Convention was kept secret until after he died. It (along with other papers) was purchased by the government in 1837 for $30,000 ($695,000 today) and the journal was published in 1840.

Fun Fact: In 1789 the Constitution was placed with the Department of State and stayed in its custody until 1921, when it was transferred to the Library of Congress. It was exhibited in the Library of Congress from 1924 through 1954, until it was moved permanently to the National Archives. https://www.archives.gov/

Fun Fact: Four (4) pages of the Constitution are on permanent display at the National Archives, but there is a fifth page. It is the Letter of Transmittal of the newly written Constitution of the Congress, which existed under the Articles of Confederation. The letter briefly describes the Constitutional Convention. It is dated September 17, 1787, the anniversary of which we celebrate each year as Constitution Day.