Thousands of bells will ring across Iowa today (Thursday) in commemoration of the U-S Constitution being signed on this date 239 years ago. Susan Klein, a member of the Abigail Adams Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, says there will be a short program at Old Main Bell Tower at Drake University in Des Moines at 2:30 this afternoon, followed by a ringing of the bells at 3 o’clock — for one minute.
The national society is encouraging everyone to join in the celebration by ringing bells at 3 P-M, and then to pause and remember the Constitution and the history it represents.
The Constitution is the foundation of our nation’s government, and Klein says it continues to serve as a testament to generations of Americans who have worked to preserve the liberties, freedoms, and rights established by the nation’s founding principles. When Iowans hear the bells today, she hopes they’ll remember that.
The bell ringing tradition, she notes, dates back centuries.
Bells famously called the people of Philadelphia together to hear the Declaration of Independence read publicly for the first time on July 4, 1776. More than 11 years later, on September 17, 1787, bells again called people together as the newly adopted Constitution was publicly read.
