- Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts was opposed to the office of vice president. “The close intimacy that must subsist between the President and Vice President makes it absolutely improper.” However, he put his feelings aside and became Vice President under James Madison!
- Four of the signers of the Constitution were born in Ireland.
- From 1804 to 1865 there were no amendments added to the Constitution until the end of the Civil War when the Thirteenth amendment was added that abolished slavery. This was the longest period in American history in which there were no changes to our Constitution.
- Delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 were involved in debates from 10 am until 3 pm six days a week with only a 10-day break during the entire duration.
- The first time the formal term “The United States of America” was used was in the Declaration of Independence.
- The Great Compromise saved the Constitutional Convention, and, probably, the Union. Authored by Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman, it called for proportional representation in the House, and one representative per state in the Senate (this was later changed to two.) The compromise passed 5-to-4, with one state, Massachusetts, “divided.”
- The Constitution contains a spelling error: “PENSYLVANIA” is spelled with one “n” in the list of signers.
- While only 27 amendments to the Constitution have been ratified, over 11,000 have been introduced in Congress.
- Of the 55 delegates attending the Constitutional Convention, 39 signed and 3 delegates dissented. Two of America’s Founding Fathers didn’t sign the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson was representing his country in France and John Adams was doing the same in Great Britain.
- The U.S. Constitution was prepared in secret, behind locked doors that were guarded by sentries.
Geography Corner
Explore what U.S. territories are — where they’re located in the Caribbean and Pacific, which ones are permanently inhabited, and which are uninhabited regions under U.S. jurisdiction.
March 3, 2026
