Lest we forget, today we mark the 220th anniversary of the signing of the US Constitution; signed this date 1787.The U.S. Constitution has 4,400 words. It is the oldest and shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world."
Of the typographical errors in the Constitution, the misspelling of the word "Pensylvania" above the signers' names is probably the most glaring.
Thomas Jefferson did not sign the Constitution. He was in France during the Convention, where he served as the U.S. minister. John Adams was serving as the U.S. minister to Great Britain during the Constitutional Convention and did not attend either.
Because of his poor health, Benjamin Franklin needed help to sign the Constitution. As he did so, tears streamed down his face.
When the Constitution was signed, the United States' population was 4 million. It is now more than 300 million. Philadelphia was the nation's largest city, with 40,000 inhabitants.
A proclamation by President George Washington and a congressional resolution established the first national Thanksgiving Day on November 26, 1789. The reason for the holiday was to give "thanks" for the new Constitution.