09/17/10

Appalachian School of Law celebrated U.S. Constitution Day 2010, the 223rd anniversary of our nation's founding document. In recognition of this extraordinary day, students listened to a dramatic reading of Benjamin Franklin's historic closing speech to the Constitutional Convention, which was presented on September 17, 1787. In the words of Professor Stewart Harris, "It was an important and, as one might expect, rather witty speech. Moreover, Franklin, who was old and infirm, was unable to present it himself, and so had a colleague do it for him -- so there is firm precedent for someone other than the author to read it aloud."