September 17
1787 - 39 men signed the US Constitution, moving this nation forward towards a structure of government that for more than two centuries has been a shining light in self-government, something we should perhaps remember as we listen to those who would purport to lead this nation in directions that would abandon the hope and promise of that document
1862 - Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North is turned back near Sharpsburg MD at the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single day in US history, with around 23,000 casualties. Yet despite knowing Lee's order of battle, George B. McClellan failed to destroy Lee's army, allowing his escape back across the Potomac and thus the bloody internecine conflict of the Civil War would continue for more than two and half additional years. Still, the victory was sufficient for Lincoln to announce the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, a document that turned the war into an effort to end slavery and thereby prevented possible intervention on behalf of the South by the British.
All American public schools which receive federal funds are supposed to do a lesson on the Constitution on Constitution Day. I teach government, and the timing of my curricula always has me on some aspect of the