Thursday's Constitution Day Celebration, honoring the 239th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution, at the Seawalk Pavilion broke with tradition. Instead of gathering on the lawn, speakers and audience sat together on the pavilion's stage, out of the harsh Florida sun.
"It's the first time I've ever been to an event wholly held on the stage, and this is really cool, really creative," Mayor Christine Hoffman said, congratulating the organizers. She described the Constitution as a framework for freedom that has shaped the nation for 250 years and stressed the importance of civic participation.
Hoffman recognized several dignitaries, including Florida State D.A.R. Regent Kim Zeman, National D.A.R. Historian General Cindy Addison, Atlantic Beach Commissioner Candice Kelly, and Neptune Beach Mayor Cori Bylund. She also thanked D.A.R. chapter leaders, city staff, and recognized the Fletcher High School band, who played patriotic music for the occasion.
Fletcher High School Band performing My Country Tis of Thee | Video from Beach Gazette
Chapter Chaplain Anne Brinsmade led a prayer of thanks for the community and for the document "which has provided our nation's foundation." The audience then recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
Zeman, who oversees 11,525 members across 104 chapters for the 2025-2027 term, said she was honored to celebrate "the supreme law of our land." She noted that the Constitution is the shortest of any major government's, never uses the word "democracy," and counts only two presidents among its signers, George Washington and James Madison.
Addison, the keynote speaker, explained that the D.A.R. petitioned for Constitution Week, September 17-23, in 1955, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it into law in 1956.
She traced the Constitution's history, beginning with the Articles of Confederation, which left the central government unable to tax or regulate trade. The resulting economic chaos, including Shays' Rebellion, pushed Washington, Madison, and others to call for a convention in Philadelphia in May 1787.
Delegates debated in secret at Independence Hall while Madison took the notes that later revealed the proceedings. The "great compromise" created a House based on the population of each state, with enslaved people counting as three-fifths of a person, and a Senate with equal representation for each state. This compromise balanced state representation in the House by counting the number of free people in the north and the smaller number of free people in the south and including a percentage of enslaved people.
The new Constitution, a complete overhaul of the Articles of Confederation, rather than a revision, was signed September 17, 1787, but needed nine of the thirteen states to ratify. Addison described the debate between Federalists, who backed it, and Anti-Federalists, who feared a too-powerful central government. She credited The Federalist Papers, by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, with persuading the public.
She then walked the audience through the ratification timeline, asking attendees to stand if they or a patriot ancestor came from each state as it was called. Delaware led on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, and South Carolina. New Hampshire became the ninth state on June 21, 1788, putting the Constitution into effect. Virginia and New York followed, and Rhode Island, the last of the original thirteen, ratified on May 29, 1790.
Washington was unanimously elected the first president on February 4, 1789, and the first Congress convened March 4, 1789. The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments, was ratified in 1791.
"The Constitution is a remarkable document," Addison concluded, noting the original is displayed at the National Archives. "Trust me, standing there in the majesty of these documents will give you goosebumps." She ended with Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and its ideal of a "government of the people, by the people, and for the people."
The program paused until 4 p.m., when bells rang for one minute to mark the time church bells are believed to have rung in Philadelphia at the close of the Constitutional Convention.
Bell Ringing at 4 PM for the DAR event | Video from Beach Gazette
