[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14916]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            CONSTITUTION DAY

  (Mr. YOHO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, today we commemorate the 227th birthday of the 
Constitutional Convention and the creation of America's most cherished 
document--our Constitution. Today is Constitution Day.
  On September 17, 1787, our Founding Fathers, 39 brave Americans, 
created a document that to this day is the foundation of our country 
and is admired by people around the world.
  The British statesman William Gladstone said of our Constitution:

       The American Constitution is, so far as I can see, the most 
     wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain 
     and purpose of man.

  I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. The Framers established a 
new form of government that for the first time respected the rights of 
the individual. No longer would a king or dictator rule over their 
citizens. The power of the government would derive from the consent of 
the governed.
  Responsibility of good governance is not just placed on the political 
leaders but on the participation of those citizens who have voted for 
them. Benjamin Franklin, when asked outside of Independence Hall by a 
curious woman as to what sort of government was created:

       A republic, ma'am, if you dare keep it.

       

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