What Is Constitution Day?

Most Americans know that July 4th is our nation's birthday.  Far fewer Americans

know that September 17th is the birthday of our government, the date in 1787 

on which delegates to the Philadelphia Convention completed and signed the U.S. Constitution.

The ideas on which America was founded--commitments to the rule of law, limited government

and the ideals of liberty, equality and justice--are embodied in the Constitution, the oldest

written constitution of any nation on Earth.  Constitution Day is intended to celebrate not

only the birthday of our government, but the ideas that make us Americans.

(from the US Constitution Day page, National Constitution Center http://www.constitutionday.us/)

 

Sites About the Constitution

Our Documents http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=9

For facsimile and text versions of the original document this is a great site. Don't stop at the Constitution when you're there. Take time to explore the other 99 milestone documents. This site is run jointly by the sponsors of National History Day, the National Records and Archives Administration and the USA Freedom Corps.

Annotated Constitution http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/anncon/

Cornell Law School Legal Information Institue

  If you want a more in-depth look at the Constitution this site offers commentary, notes and amendments,

  including the ones that were not ratified.

 

National Constitution Center http://www.constitutioncenter.org/

Visit them online, until you have the opportunity to visit them in Philadelphia.

They offer a wealth of information about the Constitution and its signers.

Their page also provides many suggestions for Constitution Day activities for educators, students and citizens.

http;//www.constitutionday.us  (click on educators).

Fast Facts About the Constitution from the NCC:

  • The U.S. Constitution was written in the same Pennsylvania State House where the Declaration of Independence was signed and where George Washington received his commission as Commander of the Continental Army. Now called Independence Hall, the building still stands today on Independence Mall in Philadelphia, directly across from the National Constitution Center.
  • Written in 1787, the Constitution was signed on September 17th. But it wasn't until 1788 that it was ratified by the necessary nine states.
  • The U.S. Constitution was prepared in secret, behind locked doors that were guarded by sentries.
  • Some of the original framers and many delegates in the state ratifying conventions were very troubled that the original Constitution lacked a description of individual rights. In 1791, Americans added a list of rights to the Constitution. The first ten amendments became known as The Bill of Rights
  • Of the 55 delegates attending the Constitutional Convention, 39 signed and 3 delegates dissented. Two of America's "founding fathers" didn't sign the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson was representing his country in France and John Adams was doing the same in Great Britain.
  • Established on November 26, 1789, the first national "Thanksgiving Day" was originally created by George Washington as a way of "giving thanks" for the Constitution.
  • Of the written national constitutions, the U.S. Constitution is the oldest and shortest.
  • At 81,Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania was the oldest delegate at the Constitutional Convention and at 26, Jonathon Dayton of New Jersey was the youngest.
  • The original Constitution is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, it was moved to Fort Knox for safekeeping.
  • More than 11,000 amendments have been introduced in Congress. Thirty three have gone to the states to be ratified and twenty seven have received the necessary approval from the states to actually become amendments to the Constitution.

LLRX--Constitution Day Resources  http://www.llrx.com/columns/govdomain8.htm

Peggy Garvin's (Garvin's Information Consulting and author of The U.S. Government Internet Manual ) comprehensive article is well worth reading. One of it's most useful features is an excellent set of annotated link's to primary and historical materials available online including :

Constitution and Related Historical Documents

There are many free, online sources for the Constitution and related historical documents. Among them:

GPO Access: Constitution Main Page

Library of Congress: Primary Documents in American History: United States Constitution

Library of Congress: Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention Broadsides Collection

Library of Congress: Federalist Papers on Thomas

National Archives: Charters of Freedom: Constitution of the United States

Yale Avalon Project: The American Constitution: A Documentary Record
The Avalon Project presents a wide variety of HTML versions of early American historical documents.

Justice Learning.org http://www.justicelearning.org/

This site offers broad coverage of Constitutional Issues drawing materials from NPR's Justice Talking program and the NY Times Learning Network .

Go here for their special Constitution Day Resources http://www.justicelearning.org/constitutionday/index.asp

Constitution Day Resources for Educators

Celebrate Constitution Day http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution/constitution-day.html

The National Archives always has extensive constitutional resources, but has greatly expanded pages to help celebrate Constitution Day.

 

 

US Courts System Educational Outreach http://www.uscourts.gov/outreach/constitutionday.html

  A very interesting set of links from the Federal Courts official site including:

One-page handouts on themes of Constitution Day 2005 for discussion leaders.
Fast Facts about the Federal Courts.

Interactive Games (Flash is required) testing the player's knowledge of the Constitution’s fundamentals.

Federal Judges To Host Students for Constitution Day
Look for a broadcast of a student conversation with Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer and Sandra Day O'Connor.  The program was taped a few weeks before Justice O'Connor retired. The 30-minute broadcast will be shown Friday, September 16, at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Eastern on the federal court system's television network. Federal judges will host the local event and will facilitate a student-centered post-broadcast discussion.   For more information on how to find a participating court near you, contact National Outreach Manager Rebecca Fanning at <rebecca_fanning@ao.uscourts.gov>.

Watch a Webcast with Justice O'Connor at http://www.justicelearning.org/constitutionday/TuneIn.asp#previews

 

Free Ed Resources for Educators http://www.ed.gov/free/constitution/index.html

Combining resources from over 30 Federal agencies this site has been providing free materials for educators since 1997.  Don't miss the link to Other Constitutional Resources to see all 36 items linked from their site.

 

Center for Civic Education www.civiced.org/byrd

  Created specifically to support Constitution Day activities there are lesson plans                 for grades K-12. As well as links to other sites with additional materials.

 
 

National Association of Student Personnel Administrators  http://www.naspa.org/policy/guide.pdf

The NASPA provides a free guide to Constitution Day resources and activities for use in schools or other organizations.

Constitutional Rights Foundation http://www.crf-usa.org

Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF) is a non-profit, non-partisan, community-based organization dedicated to educating America's young people about the importance of civic participation in a democratic society.

Please visit our Brooklyn College Library Constitution Day exhibit

 located in the Government Information area on the Lower Level

Pick up a personal copy of the U.S. Constitution

courtesy of Congressman Major Owens

 

 

 Prepared by Prof. Jane Cramer  janec@brooklyn.cuny.edu    Brooklyn College Library  9/14/05