Paper Party

Balloons flew in Washington, bright lights were on in New York, and bells rang across the U.S. But Philadelphia's rollicking celebration of the 200th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution was the centerpiece and culmination of the nation's yearlong bicentennial commemoration. While rain fell on the climactic events, it failed to dampen either the soaring spirits or the high-flying oratory.

Speaking outside Independence Hall, President Reagan hailed the completion of the Constitution as the moment "the Revolution truly began." Former Chief Justice Warren Burger, who has promoted the bicentennial since he retired from the high court in 1986, praised the charter as the "greatest work of government the world has ever seen." Then he tolled a replica of the Liberty Bell, signaling the start of 200 seconds of bell ringing throughout the U.S.

Some 250,000 spectators thronged to a parade that featured a varied assortment of marchers -- Boy Scouts, gays, D.A.R.s, right-to-lifers, peace activists, lawyers and just plain folks -- necessary to any proper commemoration of the Constitution. We the People 200, the organizer of the event, even assembled 600 descendants of the Constitution's 39 signers. The offspring mingled and swapped stories at a champagne reception. Weldon Wilson, a descendant of Signer James Wilson of Pennsylvania, brought eight members of his family cross-country with him from Sherman Oaks, Calif. "It will be great," he mused, "for my granddaughters to say 80 years from now, 'I was at the 200th anniversary of the Constitution.' "