1. Originally, the Constitution lacked a Bill of Rights.
Late in the session, George Mason of Virginia introduced a measure to add a
bill of rights to the document. However, for various reasons his proposal was
voted down. What would become the Bill of Rights was added later in 1791.
2. Three men refused to sign the Constitution.
Edmund Randolph of Virginia, George Mason of Virginia and Elbridge
Gerry of Massachusetts refused to sign the Constitution in 1787. Mason
himself listed 16 objections to the document on the back of a copy, among
them including the lack of a bill of rights and the absence of a measure to
immediately abolish the slave trade.
3. Rhode Island was not represented at the Convention.
Of the 13 original states, Rhode Island was the only one that did not have a
delegation present for the Philadelphia Convention. The smallest state in the
Union boycotted the Convention over its belief that the new central
government formed by the proceedings would undermine its own power. In
1788, Rhode Island residents overwhelmingly voted down ratification.
4. The Constitution is a short document.
With only seven articles and 27 amendments, the U.S. Constitution is the
shortest constitution of any sovereign nation in the world today. By contrast,
the Constitution of India is longest in the world, with 395 articles and 94
amendments.
5. Grammatical mistakes found in the document.
No one is perfect. The original draft of the Constitution had the occasional
misspelling and grammar error. Examples include Pennsylvania being
rendered "Pensylvania" in the list of signatories and the word "choose" being
spelled "chuse" throughout the document. The later added Bill of Rights
included the British spelling of defense.
6. Many amendments have been proposed.
Since its ratification, approximately 11,000 amendments have been proposed
for being added to the Constitution. This includes about 500 proposed
amendments to change the current "indirect" election of the president via the
Electoral College.
7. God and democracy are not mentioned.
While two words commonly spoken about by Americans, neither "God" nor
"democracy" appear in the text of the Constitution. The closest instance for
the former comes with Article VII's listing of the ratification date as being
"in the Year of our Lord."
8. Notable people who were absent.
At the Convention, there were notable Founding Fathers absent from the
proceedings. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were in Europe. Samuel
Adams, John Hancock and Patrick Henry declined to attend, with Henry
famously remarking that he "smelt a rat."
9. The eldest statesman to sign the Constitution.
At age 81, Benjamin Franklin was the oldest delegate at the Convention. In
poor health, Franklin had to be helped to sign his name to the document. He
would die three years later.
10. The oldest Constitution in existence.
At 226 years of age come Tuesday, the U.S. Constitution is widely
considered to be the oldest constitution presently in existence. Ratified in
1789, its nearest competitors would be Norway (1814) and Belgium (1831).