Most Americans can easily tell you what happened on July 4, 1776. How many can tell you what historic event occurred on Sept. 17, 1787, 219 years ago today?

On that date, 55 delegates settled on the final draft of what would prove to be a monumental document. What they decided has endured for 219 years with only 27 changes. Their draft would be the supreme law of the land, a social contract that limited the powers of government and guaranteed every American citizen certain rights and freedoms. Have you figured out why today is so special? It is the date that the final draft of the U.S. Constitution was submitted to the states for ratification.

Constitution Day became a holiday in 2004 with the passage of an amendment by Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. He inserted the amendment because of the apparent ignorance many Americans display in regard to their nation’s history. Prior to being known as Constitution Day, Sept. 17 was referred to as Citizenship Day. Beyond changing the name of the holiday, the amendment required all schools receiving federal funds to offer educational programming about the Constitution every Sept. 17.

To commemorate this year’s Constitution Day, we surveyed 142 Daniel Webster College students. They were asked to rank the Bill of Rights by importance to them from one (being the most important) to 10 (being the least important). These rights and their average rank are listed below:

• Freedom of speech2.6

• The right to privacy4.1

• Freedom of religion5.2

• The right to protection from cruel and unusual punishment5.2

• The right to a jury trial5.8

• The right to a lawyer6.0

• The right to protection from self-incrimination6.3

• The right to freedom of the press6.5

• The right to have a state militia and bear arms6.5

• The right to peacefully assemble6.7

Based on the survey results, most Daniel Webster College students value freedom of speech and the right to privacy over others. It is not surprising to us that students acknowledge these constitutional rights as essential in their daily lives. However, what was surprising was just how difficult it was for the students to fill out the survey due to their unawareness of their rights and influences of those rights.

When asked the importance of understanding the Constitution, Dr. Michael Fishbein, provost of Daniel Webster College, said, “People live and die for the ideas that define their way of life. Our Constitution provides that definition and the Bill of Rights provides the space in which we breathe free air.”

Fishbein added, “The degree to which we are ignorant of our Constitution and our rights is the degree to which we cannot defend them.”

Rid yourself of ignorance by celebrating these rights, even if it’s just by acknowledging them today.