今天是美国的宪法日，纪念美国宪法于1787年9月17日签署。

“我们合众国人民，为建立一个更为完善的联邦、树立正义、保障国内安宁、规划共同防务、促进公共福利、并使我们自己和后代得享自由之赐福，特为美利坚合众国制定和确立本宪法。”——《美国宪法》序言。

开国元勋们以这一重要原则建立美国宪法，意味着权力始于人民。人民主权体现的思想就是普通公民可以受到信赖，做出影响自己和其他美国人生活的重要决定。纵观美国历史，越来越多的公民被允许参与民主进程。权力可以从基层开始、一群人可以行使这项权力并使他们的社会变得更好——这样的想法是人类历史上一个令人振奋的想法。

Today is Constitution Day in the United States, which commemorates the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787.

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” - Preamble to the United States Constitution

The Founding Fathers began the U.S. Constitution with this important principle, which means that power begins with the people. Popular sovereignty is the thought that the average citizen can be trusted to make important decisions that affect his or her life and the lives of other Americans. Throughout American history, more and more citizens were permitted to participate in the democratic process. The idea that power can begin from the ground up; that a group of people can exercise that power and change their society for the better is an exciting idea in human history.

出处：美国驻华大使馆（微信订阅号：USEmbassyChina）