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PRINTER'S NO. 2356
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
465
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY KORTZ, BOBACK, QUIGLEY, LONGIETTI, HENNESSEY,
BIZZARRO, BAKER, DUSH, SONNEY, KAUFFMAN, SCHLEGEL CULVER,
SCHLOSSBERG, SACCONE, CORBIN, DEAN, SAYLOR, DiGIROLAMO,
STAATS, O'BRIEN, MILLARD, CHARLTON, JAMES, MACKENZIE,
CALTAGIRONE, MURT, BULLOCK, RYAN, WATSON, R. BROWN, NEILSON,
GOODMAN, ROZZI, GROVE, DRISCOLL, READSHAW, D. COSTA,
ZIMMERMAN, WARD, TALLMAN, HEFFLEY, EVERETT, MARSICO, DeLUCA,
COX, TOEPEL, B. MILLER, PICKETT, FARRY, GABLER, THOMAS,
FREEMAN, GILLEN, KLUNK, SIMS, MARKOSEK, ELLIS, KULIK, RADER,
SAMUELSON, BARRAR, PYLE, COMITTA, PHILLIPS-HILL, KINSEY,
PASHINSKI, HARPER, ROTHMAN, RAPP, ROEBUCK, JOZWIAK, BURNS,
CONKLIN, BARBIN, SCHWEYER, WARREN AND BERNSTINE,
SEPTEMBER 5, 2017
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
SEPTEMBER 5, 2017
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 230th anniversary of the signing of the
Constitution of the United States and honoring the vision and
perseverance of the framers who crafted our nation's
governing document during the Constitutional Convention of
1787.
WHEREAS, The nation's first governing document, the Articles
of Confederation, was ratified in 1781 and provided for a loose
confederation of states and a weak central government; and
WHEREAS, The Congress of the Confederation struggled to
enforce its authority without executive or judicial branches of
government; and
WHEREAS, Congress endorsed the idea of New York politician
Alexander Hamilton to convene a Constitutional Convention in
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Philadelphia in 1787 and invited all 13 states to send delegates
to the meeting; and
WHEREAS, The Constitutional Convention opened in May 1787, in
Independence Hall, formerly known as the Pennsylvania State
House, with 55 delegates that included Gouverneur Morris and
James Wilson from Pennsylvania, who emerged as leading figures
in the convention; and
WHEREAS, The delegates, upon extensive debate, realized they
needed to write a new governing document to address the needs of
their emerging nation rather than simply amend the Articles of
Confederation; and
WHEREAS, The framers developed a plan for three coequal
branches of government, executive, legislative and judicial, and
devised a system of checks and balances that instilled power in
and oversight of each branch; and
WHEREAS, Delegates negotiated the Connecticut Compromise,
which established a bicameral legislature that allowed for one
chamber to reflect the proportional population of states and
another to grant all states equal representation; and
WHEREAS, The Constitution of the United States was signed on
September 17, 1787, first by George Washington and then by 39 of
the 55 delegates present before being presented to the states
for ratification; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify the
Constitution of the United States on December 12, 1787; and
WHEREAS, Nine states were needed to ratify the document for
it to take effect with the ninth state ratifying it in June
1788; and
WHEREAS, Framers agreed to the demands of some states to
quickly include 10 amendments establishing rights and freedoms
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for individuals as well as the states, known collectively as the
Bill of Rights; and
WHEREAS, The Constitution of the United States was written
with enough foresight that it has endured for 230 years only
being altered 17 times after the adoption of the Bill of Rights;
and
WHEREAS, It is fitting that we honor the 230th anniversary of
the governing document that solidified a fledgling nation,
proving that inclusion and compromise can create lasting and
effective governance; and
WHEREAS, The Constitution of the United States as a living
document has seen our nation through times of war and peace,
depression and prosperity, growth and change; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor and
recognize the 230th anniversary of the signing of the
Constitution of the United States.
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