Date: September 8, 2004
Contact: Susan Jones, 315-336-2090
Contact: Emily Murray, National Constitution Center, 215-409-6693
Citizens from across the country can sign the Constitution and mark their place in history during Constitution Week 2004, September 17 through 23 at the National Constitution Center.
An "I Signed the Constitution event" will be held at Fort Stanwix National Monument from September 17 through 23.
For the past decade, the Center, has sponsored I Signed
the Constitution events across the country to encourage Americans to affirm their rights and responsibilities as citizens and to learn more about their Constitution.
Constitution Week 2004 kicks off on September 17, the 217th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution in 1787. Just as the original signers did, participants can place their signatures on parchment scrolls. These scrolls will be returned to the National Constitution Center to be archived. Since the Center opened in 2003, visitors to the Center have had the opportunity to sign their names next to a copy of today's Constitution, or to dissent in custom-made books that have
been archived as well.
Since 1991, the National Constitution Center has sponsored Constitution Week events nationwide in commemoration of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. This year, approximately 200 sites from across the country, will host I Signed the
Constitution events. Over the years, nearly 3 million people at schools, libraries,museums, National Parks and monuments, as well as presidential libraries have added their own names to one of our most enduring documents.
While these events are designed to provide a celebration for the whole family, I Signed the Constitution events are firmly rooted in the National Constitution Center's mission to provide constitutional education for adults and children. Each year new material is provided to those that participated in the event, with the goal of broadening their knowledge about the Constitution and the role it plays in their everyday lives. This year every signer will receive a free Pocket Constitution and a copy of the Constitutional Gazette, a newspaper filled with
articles and fun constitutional activities.
For more information about the National Constitution Center, please call 215-409-6600 or visit the Center's Web site at
www.constitutioncenter.org.
