The U.S. Constitution was approved 232 years ago today; its ratification was made possible by the efforts of four resolute patriots
September 17 is Constitution Day. It marks the 232nd anniversary of the approval of the United States Constitution. The work of the Continental Congress was not ratified until nine months later and the government became operational after George Washington assumed the presidency on March 30, 1789.
The journey to ratification was not easy, however, and was only made possible by a resolute group of four patriots. By the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783, and until 1789, the country was governed by the Articles of Confederation which was at best an agreement among a loose group of 13 sovereign states and — at its worst — a hybrid confederation with each state jealously protecting its own prerogatives.