On September 17, 1787, a group of men gathered in a closed meeting room to sign the greatest vision of human freedom in history, the U.S. Constitution. And it was Benjamin Franklin who made the motion to sign the document in his last great speech.
The Constitutional Convention started in May 1787 in Pennsylvania’s State House (which is now called Independence Hall). During four months of deliberations, the delegates drew up a plan for a new form of republican government that replaced a weak central government established by the Articles of Confederation.
George Washington presided over the Convention, which featured many of the great minds of the day (James Madison, James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris, and, for a while, Alexander Hamilton), a legend (Franklin) and the most important regional leaders in the United States. Absent were Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and John Hancock, among others.
On September 17, the group met one last time to conclude its business in Philadelphia, and to agree on how the Constitution would be sent to the Confederation Congress to start the ratification process with the states.
According to James Madison’s notes, the Constitution was first read to the group.
Franklin, in poor health at the age of 81, was at the meeting and wrote a speech to introduce the motion for the convention’s delegates to sign the Constitution. Too weak to read the speech, he asked James Wilson to read the speech for him to the other delegates.
“I confess that there are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them,” the speech said in its opening sentence. Franklin then made a powerful argument for the new Constitution.
“I doubt too whether any other Convention we can obtain, may be able to make a better Constitution. For when you assemble a number of men to have the advantage of their joint wisdom, you inevitably assemble with those men, all their prejudices, their passions, their errors of opinion, their local interests, and their selfish views. From such an assembly can a perfect production be expected?” he asked.
Franklin’s speech concluded with a plea for all of the delegates to sign the Constitution. In the ensuing debate, Hugh Williamson from North Carolina rejected this idea. He proposed a letter should accompany the document when it was sent to the Congress in New York because the letter “would be found satisfactory to some members who disliked the Constitution.” Williamson was referring to three delegates, Elbridge Gerry, George Mason, and Edmund Randolph, who objected to the final version of the Constitution.
The three dissenters all spoke during the debate and explained why they wouldn’t sign the final document. Gouverneur Morris and Hamilton argued that the delegates needed to sign the Constitution. Franklin then made the final motion to sign the document, which was approved by 10 of the state delegations.
Then, a motion was made to destroy all of the journals that documented the convention, or to put them in George Washington’s possession. The delegates agreed that Washington should keep the journals until a new Congress was formed under the Constitution.
Madison simply wrote one of the most important sentences in American history: “The members then proceeded to sign the instrument.”
Of the 41 men in the room, 38 signed the document, with George Read also signing for an absent John Dickinson. William Jackson, the group’s secretary, signed to attest to the Constitution’s authenticity.
“The Constitution being signed by all the members except Mr. Randolph, Mr. Mason, and Mr. Gerry who declined giving it the sanction of their names, the Convention dissolved itself by an Adjournment sine die,” Madison concluded.
James McHenry, a Maryland delegate, also kept brief notes of what happened on September 17, 1787.
“Dr. Franklin put a paper into Mr. Wilson’s hand to read containing his reasons for assenting to the constitution. It was plain, insinuating, persuasive-and in any event of the system guarded the Doctors fame,” he wrote.
After the meeting concluded, McHenry noted, “A lady asked Dr. Franklin, ‘Well Doctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy?’ A republic, replied the Doctor, if you can keep it.”
SOURCE: CONSTITUTIONCENTER.ORG
Sew Colorful 
H/T M
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I’ve got high hopes for this!
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I’m excited too!
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Gotta wonder where he’s been and what he’s been doing…..
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we still have at least 2 hummers. It’s been raining hard on and off for the last 2 hours.
Yesterday when we drove down the driveway there were quite a few sticks–but nothing we couldn’t drive over in the truck.
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“We the People. Still Responsible.“
Newsletter | September 17, 2026
“September 17 marks the 239th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. Having won their independence, Americans faced the challenge of establishing a government that could secure the nation’s future while safeguarding its people’s liberty. The Constitution provided that framework, dividing authority, assigning responsibilities, and placing limits on those entrusted with power.
Its opening words still remind us where that authority begins: We the People.
Benjamin Franklin’s famous response to a question about the government the Convention had produced captured both its promise and its challenge: “A republic, if you can keep it.”
That remark, short and to the point, places a responsibility upon every generation of Americans. The Constitution establishes the framework of our political system. Preserving that system requires citizens willing to understand it, participate in it, and defend its principles.
The first ten amendments, added later as the Bill of Rights, expressly protect fundamental freedoms. Together with the Constitution’s structure, those protections help safeguard individual liberty against abuses of government power. But written guarantees require people willing to uphold them, especially when doing so becomes inconvenient or politically unpopular.
Since we are the ultimate source of political authority, we bear responsibility for preserving the constitutional order through which that authority is exercised.
That is why civic education must begin early. Our children should understand how their government works, why its powers are divided, and how constitutional protections shape their daily lives. They should know that public officials serve within an established framework of authority and remain accountable to the people.
Our own education must continue throughout our lives. We inform ourselves about international, national, state, and local affairs that affect our communities and families. We vote, serve on juries when called, obey the law, and respect the constitutional rights of our opponents. We pursue political change through lawful, constitutional means.
We also speak out when government oversteps its bounds. Our First Amendment freedoms give us powerful means to fulfill that responsibility.
Freedom of speech allows us to challenge public officials and question prevailing opinion. Freedom of the press enables investigation and scrutiny of those exercising power. Peaceful assembly allows neighbors to organize around a common cause. The right to petition provides a means to bring grievances before government and demand accountability.
These freedoms belong to Americans across political and religious differences. Defending them requires consistency. We must hold leaders we supported to the same constitutional standards we demand of those we opposed.
We must also recognize the danger posed by any ideology or movement that places unchecked political power above individual liberty. A free society depends on protecting conscience, allowing peaceful disagreement, and refusing to make constitutional rights conditional on loyalty to those in authority.
The Constitution gives us institutions through which to govern ourselves. Their endurance depends upon the people who serve within them and the citizens who hold them accountable.
This Constitution Day, take time to read our founding charter. Discuss it with your children and grandchildren. Attend a public meeting. Ask an informed question. Help someone understand a freedom they may have taken for granted. At America’s Future, we remain committed to helping citizens understand these principles and their responsibility to preserve them.
Franklin’s challenge still belongs to us. We honor the framers through our vigilance, our participation, and the example we set for those who will inherit this Republic. Each generation must learn the principles of liberty and put them into practice. Our task is to ensure that the next generation has both the knowledge and the courage to do the same.
We the People. Still responsible. God bless America!”
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Good Night All!
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Good night, Pat! Sleep well!
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