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.

Cornell Law Legal Information Institute's Annotated Constitution http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/anncon/
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.

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.

The Founder's Constitution http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/
Hailed as "the Oxford English Dictionary of American constitutional history," the print edition of The Founders' Constitution has proved since its publication in 1986 to be an invaluable aid to all those seeking a deeper understanding of one of our nation's most important legal documents.

Constitution Day Resources

LLRX-- 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:

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
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

Constitution Day Resources for Educators

The National Constitution Center has great resources for Educators. Their page provides many suggestions for Constitution Day activities. (click on educators).

TheNational Archives always has extensive constitutional resources, but has greatly expanded pages to help Celebrate Constitution Day. They are sponsoring a month long program of events if you happen to be in the Washington DC area. In addition there are many resources to help you plan your local event.

US Courts System Educational Outreach A very interesting set of links from the Federal Courts official site including:

One-page handouts on themes of Constitution Day for discussion leaders. Fast Facts about the Federal Courts. Interactive Games testing the player's knowledge of the Constitution's fundamentals.

Look for a broadcast of a student conversation with Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer and Sandra Day O'Connor starting Sept 1, 2006. The program was taped a few weeks before Justice O'Connor retired. This and much more can be found at the Justice Learning Audio-Visual Resources and Archive.

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

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.