{"id":220,"date":"2022-08-29T21:15:18","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T21:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/?page_id=220"},"modified":"2025-09-11T13:37:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T13:37:15","slug":"constitutional-text","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/syllabus\/constitutional-text\/","title":{"rendered":"Constitutional Text"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header\">\n<div class=\"entry-hdr\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-meta\">\n<div class=\"meta-info-wrap\">\n<h2><strong>Image Gateway<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_227\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/files\/2022\/08\/Constitution-text.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-227\" class=\"size-large wp-image-227\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/files\/2022\/08\/Constitution-text-1024x498.png\" alt=\"Shallus\" width=\"640\" height=\"311\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/files\/2022\/08\/Constitution-text-1024x498.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/files\/2022\/08\/Constitution-text-300x146.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/files\/2022\/08\/Constitution-text-768x374.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/files\/2022\/08\/Constitution-text-1536x747.png 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/files\/2022\/08\/Constitution-text.png 1846w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-227\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Original engrossed copy of the US Constitution, September 17, 1787 (National Archives)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"entry-content cf\">\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Who was Jacob Shallus?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-1361\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-404pinsker\/files\/2015\/09\/Errors.jpg\" alt=\"Errors\" width=\"274\" height=\"247\" \/>If you know the name Jacob Shallus, then you are a true Constitutional maven. \u00a0He was the clerk who engrossed the final handwritten copy of the U.S. Constitution for the 1787 delegates to sign. \u00a0Shallus prepared the 4,500 words of text on four parchment pages probably over the course of a single day, Sunday, September 16, 1787. \u00a0The 37-year-old Pennsylvanian did a remarkable job under the circumstances \u2013and received $30 for his efforts\u2013 but nonetheless he made some mistakes. \u00a0Henry Bain from the National Archives has a wonderful post detailing the errors contained within the earliest versions of the Constitution, some produced by Shallus and others, apparently according to Bain, the responsibility of none other than Alexander Hamilton (who somehow managed to misspell Pennsylvania). \u00a0Even sacred documents, it seems, need determined proofreaders.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/publications\/prologue\/2012\/fall\/const-errors.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Errors in the Constitution<\/a>\u00a0(By Henry Bain, 2012)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Outline<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>PREAMBLE<\/li>\n<li>ARTICLE I &#8211;Legislative<\/li>\n<li>ARTICLE II &#8211;Executive<\/li>\n<li>ARTICLE III &#8211;Judicial<\/li>\n<li>ARTICLE IV &#8211;States<\/li>\n<li>ARTICLE V &#8211;Amendments<\/li>\n<li>ARTICLE VI &#8211;Miscellaneous<\/li>\n<li>ARTICLE VII &#8211;Ratification<\/li>\n<li>SIGNERS<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>What were the biggest mistakes in the original US Constitution?<\/li>\n<li>Which constitutional amendments have done the most to improve the nation&#8217;s frame of government?<\/li>\n<li>What are the most pressing flaws remaining in the current frame of American constitutional government?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image Gateway Who was Jacob Shallus? If you know the name Jacob Shallus, then you are a true Constitutional maven. \u00a0He was the clerk who engrossed the final handwritten copy of the U.S. Constitution for the 1787 delegates to sign. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/syllabus\/constitutional-text\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":373,"featured_media":0,"parent":21,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-220","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/373"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":717,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/220\/revisions\/717"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/hist-211constitution\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}