Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat representing Texas, suggested during a recent address to congressional colleagues that the Constitution and the American system of governance has lasted about 400 years — insinuating that our guiding legal document was signed around 1614.
Her statements, as picked up the The Washington Free Beacon: “Maybe I should offer a good thanks to the distinguished members of the majority, the Republicans, my chairman and others, for giving us an opportunity to have a deliberative constitutional discussion that reinforces the sanctity of this nation and how well it is that we have lasted some 400 years, operating under a Constitution that clearly defines what is constitutional and what is not.”
Ms. Lee is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Virginia Law School.
The Constitution was formally adopted on Sept. 17, 1787. It was then ratified on June 21, 1788 and went into effect in March of 1789.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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