Never-before Made Public, the 'Fifth Page' of the U.S. Constitution, a Letter Allegedly Penned by George Washington, Says 'Individuals Entering into Society Must Give Up a Share of Liberty to Preserve the Rest'

Constitution’s Extra Page Shown in Public for First Time

September 14, 2011

National Constitution Center - The National Archives put on public display on Friday the “fifth page” of the Constitution, a document that hasn’t been seen in public before.

The Constitution we all learned about in school and read about today has four pages, and it contains the basic articles that led to the formation of the current U.S. government.

The fifth page is known as the transmittal page of the Constitution and the Resolutions of the Constitutional Convention, and the National Archives will make it available to public viewing for a week in Washington, D.C., starting today.

Link: Read The Page

It was signed by George Washington and it includes the instructions about how the Constitution should be ratified and put into effect.

The document also includes the instructions for how the first presidential election should be conducted, as well as the critical process of how the new government should replace the one established by the Articles Of Confederation.

The event marks a celebration of the 225th anniversary of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution on Monday. The Letter of Transmittal can be seen in the East Rotunda Gallery in the National Archives Building.

The page now lives in an oxygen-free encasement along with the original Declaration of Independence, the four-page Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Archives started work on the current restoration in 1999.

The National Archives also release a video that shows the detailed restoration process involved with the Transmittal page.

A bigger historical mystery is the whereabouts of a sixth page that accompanied the Constitution and Washington’s instructions to Congress. It was transcribed at the time, but it was also meant as a private letter.

Washington penned his own personal note to Arthur St. Clair, the president of the existing Congress. The letter explained why the Constitutional convention met and the rationale behind the new, stronger government.

“Individuals entering into society, must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest,” Washington wrote. “We hope and believe; that [the Constitution] may promote the lasting welfare of that country so dear to us all, and secure her freedom and happiness, is our most ardent wish.”