There are many different things that make the United States, one of the most important of which is the Constitution. Though you may have learned quite a bit about it in your high school history class, there are some seriously fun facts about this important document that were probably left out. Here are just a few.
It Almost Had Some Weird Amendments.
In the 200 years since the Constitution was first created, there have been a total of 27 amendments, but there were almost more than that. In 1893, one amending legal statute was proposed, which would have changed the name of the country to the United States of Earth. In 1916, it was proposed that acts of war be put to a national vote, and those who voted for the war would be required to enlist. In 1933, another amending legal statute was proposed that would limit personal wealth to just $1 million. Luckily, three-fourths of the states must ratify a proposed amendment after it makes it through Congress. This system of balances and checks kept these bizarre legal statutes off of the constitution.
It’s Not Entirely Spelled Correctly.
The Constitution only has 4,400 words, making it both the oldest and shortest written Constitution of any major government in the entire world. Unfortunately, spell check wasn’t available back then. In other words, not all 4,400 of those words are actually spelled correctly. Of these spelling errors, the most obvious and glaring one is “Pensylvania,” which is just above the signers’ names.
The United States Weren’t as United as You Might Think.
Believe it or not, only 39 of the 55 delegated who attended the Constitutional Convention actually signed the document, three of whom actually dissented. Even crazier, two of the nation’s founding fathers didn’t sign it, either. Thomas Jefferson was in France, representing the fledgling nation, and John Adams was in Great Britain doing the same.
These are just a few of the cool facts turned out by recent federal legislative history research. If your own law research has found other neat facts, feel free to share them in the comments.