Communities throughout the nation will be celebrating the spirit and meaning of the country’s Constitution beginning Sept. 17. On this day in 1787, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, 39 delegates at the Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution of the United States of America.
Nearly 170 years later, in 1955, DAR spearheaded an effort to set aside one week annually when Americans could celebrate this iconic signing. After petitioning Congress to set aside the week of Sept. 17 to 23, on Aug. 2, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Constitution Week into law.
This year, Carmel Mayor James Brainard has issued a proclamation declaring Sept. 17 to 23, 2023 as National Constitution Week in the City of Carmel and asks all citizens to join in this observation.
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The Cornelia Cole Fairbanks Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, invites the community to kickoff Constitution Week at the West Bell Tower at Coxhall Gardens, 11677 Towne Road, Carmel, with a Bells Across America celebration, at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 17. Enter from Towne Road, and park in the South Lot near the Cox Mansion.
The celebration will include a short program that culminates in the ringing of bells with the West Bell Tower at 4 p.m. Bring your own bell or there will be goodie bags with bells provided at the event. The celebration at Coxhall Gardens is coordinated with other Bells Across America celebrations across the country ringing bells at 4 p.m. to celebrate the signing of the Constitution of the United States 236 years ago.
Why bells? During colonial and early days of our country, bells – church bells, firehouse bells, town and city hall bells – were used to call people together, to alert them to some important announcement or event. Bells called the people of Philadelphia together to hear the Declaration of Independence read publicly for the first time on July 4, 1776. Then, again, just over 11 years later, on Sept. 17 bells were used to call people together for the first public reading of our new Constitution.
About DAR
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a women’s service organization whose members can trace their lineage to an individual who contributed to securing American independence during the Revolutionary War. Today’s DAR is dynamic and diverse, with over 185,000 members in 3,000 chapters in the United States and abroad.
DAR members annually provide millions of hours of volunteer service to their local communities across the country and world. DAR chapters participate in projects to promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism. Over one million members have joined the organization since its founding in 1890. Learn more at DAR.org.