To the editor:

Constitution Week is Sept. 17-23. I’d like to share some interesting facts about the Constitution of the United States of America from Roger Sachar and Chris Chadzutko, along with information from the National Archives.

Jacob Shallus, a clerk, was paid $30 to write the Constitution on paper using feather and ink. The same service would cost around $800 today.

Stored in various cities until 1952, the document was placed in the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. During the day, pages 1 and 4 of the document are displayed in a bullet-proof case containing helium and water vapor to preserve the paper’s quality. At night, the pages are put into a vault with five-ton doors that can withstand a nuclear explosion.

The entire Constitution is displayed only one day a year, on Sept. 17.

George Washington was unanimously elected as president of the Constitutional Convention. Although he listened carefully, he did not speak during any of the proceedings until the convention’s final day.

The oldest delegate at age 81, Benjamin Franklin needed help signing his name.

The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were proposed on Sept. 25, 1789, and ratified on Dec. 15, 1791.

Constitution Week is a time to learn about and appreciate this valuable document, which when it was written defined a new method of government, a nation governed by “We the People.”

Celebrate our Constitution by thinking about what it means to be a citizen of the United States of America.

What does freedom mean to you?

Diane Myer,

Baldwin City