Get Ready for Constitution Week in Alexandria

Mayor Bill Euille is scheduled to sign an official proclamation commemorating Constitution Week Sept. 17-23 in Council Chambers in City Hall Tuesday.

Participating in the event will be students from Mt. Vernon and Samuel Tucker elementary schools and Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy. School Board Chairman Karen Graf with her children are scheduled to attend along with City Council members and members from local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Students from Lyles-Crouch will sing “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” the “Preamble” and “The Bill of Rights Rap.” 

Virginians played a pivotal role in drafting the U. S. Constitution, according to the DAR. James Madison and George Mason shaped the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Virginia State Constitution. Thomas Jefferson referred to these documents when he completed the Declaration of Independence. 

The tradition of celebrating the Constitution began in 1956 after the Daughters of the American Revolution petitioned Congress and Public Law 915 was passed.  The aim of Constitution Week is emphasizing citizens’ responsibilities for protecting and defending the Constitution, informing people that the Constitution is the basis for America’s heritage and foundation; and encouraging the study of the historical events which led to the Constitution in September 1787.