(Photos courtesy of Washington State Archives)

It doesn’t receive nearly as much attention as Independence Day. It doesn’t offer an excuse to have a barbecue and shoot off fireworks. But Sept. 17 is a very important date in American history. It’s the date when the United States Constitution was signed by 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.

Go here to learn more about the U.S. Constitution, including a closer look at the delegates and the issues involved in creating and ratifying the Constitution and the new government it established.

Here in Washington, our state constitution is kept safe in our State Archives. When we celebrate Washington’s 125th birthday as a state on Nov. 11 at the Capitol, the original copy of the Washington Constitution will make a rare public appearance at the debut of a new Legacy Washington history exhibit in the lobby of the Secretary of State’s Office.  The two photos from the State Archives’ Ben Helle should whet your civic appetite.

Secretary of State Kim Wyman urged students and indeed all Washington residents to familiarize themselves with the state and federal constitutions, calling them “our foundational documents so important to our self-government and protection of our liberties.”