Each year, September 17 is celebrated as Constitution Day. On this day, we nationally
commemorate the document that has guided our country since its ratification on September
17, 1787. In fact, the United States Constitution is the longest living written charter of
government still operating in the world today. On this Constitution Day, we can take a moment
to reflect upon the extraordinary longevity of the words and concepts that have sculpted our
nation over the past 234 years. Our enduring reliance on the Constitution serves as a guide
amidst racial strife, economic turmoil, social upheaval, political chaos, global war, and civil war.
Yet, it is the fundamental ability of the Constitution to evolve that keeps it relevant and alive, as
was profoundly noted by the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, “We will see that
the true miracle was not the birth of the Constitution, but its life, a life nurtured through two
turbulent centuries of our own making, and a life embodying much good fortune that was
not.”*
*Thurgood Marshall, “Reflections on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution,” 101 Harvard Law Review 1 (1987).
Written by Dr. Sarah Marusek , Constitutional Law Expert
Weeklong Celebration of the Constitution, Sept. 12-16, 2022, featured on UH Hilo Stories
