Pictured, left to right: Stacy Kehoe, chairman, Chattanooga Regents Council, Judge David Campbell Chapter; Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger; Jessica M. Dumitru, immediate past regent, Chief John Ross Chapter; and Susan M. Harris, regent, Chickamauga Chapter.
Members of the Chattanooga Regents Council, NSDAR, met with Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger to celebrate Constitution Week and to share the Mayor’s proclamation reminding citizens of the significance of Constitution Week.
Officials said, "The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution joins the U. S. Government and civic and military groups in commemorating our nation’s most important document, our United States Constitution. The Constitution, replacing the earlier Articles of Confederation, provides the foundation and framework of our federal system and its critical elements: a division of power between the central government and states, checks and balances, three distinctive branches of government and a Bill of Rights.
The Constitution serves as the 'supreme law of the land' and was written and ratified to protect our inherent values of life, liberty and justice.
"Constitution Week, celebrated during the week of September 17-23, reminds citizens of the struggle to create a new nation and a new form of government, a representative republic. Building upon the concepts articulated in the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution clearly identifies the purposes of our government In 52 words: 'We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.'
"Many citizens may not realize that the celebration of the Constitution originated with the Daughters of the American Revolution when the organization petitioned the U.S. Congress to set aside Sept. 17-23 for an annual observation of our founding document. The resolution was adopted by Congress and then signed into law in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The five Chattanooga Chapters, Chickamauga, Judge David Campbell, Nancy Ward, Chief John Ross and Moccasin Bend, celebrated the historic week by:
•
Providing classroom and public education, emphasizing citizen responsibilities for protecting and defending the Constitution;
• Creating ceremonies in which the Constitution as the foundation of our government can be discussed and analyzed; and
• Studying the background, convention attendees and contributions along with the debates that led to the writing of our Constitution.