Constitution Day - September 17: Constitution Day

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In 2004, the U.S. Congress established September 17 as Constitution Day, to commemorate and celebrate the and signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787, at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

One provision of the new law was that colleges and universities around the country should offer educational resources to better understand the Constitution as a founding document of the U.S. political and social order.

Constitution Day at UC
Go to the collection of resources put together by the statewide office of the University of California
Read more about the Constitution
Find the newest materials about the Constitution in the UC San Diego Library collection.

Constitution Day & Citizenship Day Resources from the American Political Science Association
Constitution Day resources for faculty from APSA
Constitution Center - Constitution Day
Includes an all-day webcast, a copy of the naturalization test and a "which founding father are you?" quiz.
Government, Law & Politics Lesson Plan Resources from the Library of Congress
Teacher-created, classroom-tested lesson plans using primary sources from the Library of Congress. Covers the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence.
Teaching With Documents: Observing Constitution Day from the National Archives
The National Archives and Records Administration celebrates this important day in our nation's history by presenting the following activities, lesson plans, and information.
New York Times American Democracy Project - Constitution Day Planning Guide
Includes programming and planning ideas, and links to web tools and resources aimed at a variety of audiences.
Constitution Day from the US Courts
Includes videos, podcasts, and other resources on jury service and the Constitutional guarantee of trial by jury.

United States Constitution

United States Constitution
First Amendment

Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789
The Continental Congress Broadside Collection (256 titles) and the Constitutional Convention Broadside Collection (21 titles) contain 277 documents relating to the work of Congress and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution.
America's Founding Documents: The Charters of Freedom from the National Archives
View images of original U.S. Constitutional and other founding U.S. documents. Also includes biographies of the Delegates to the Constitutional Convention.
Constitutional Law: An Overview
from Cornell University's Legal Information Institute
The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation - GovInfo
Includes the original text of the Constitution and annotated versions from 1992, 2002, 2012-14, and 2016, with biannual supplements.

First Amendment Encyclopedia (Free Speech Center, Middle Tennessee State University)
The First Amendment Encyclopedia is a comprehensive, searchable collection of articles on First Amendment topics. The John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies at Middle Tennessee State University started the online encyclopedia project in 2016 when it purchased the rights to two bound print volumes of the Encyclopedia of the First Amendment published by CQ Press. We put them online where more people could find them, adding links and references to help you explore even more.

Additional Research Tools

World Constitutions Illustrated
Includes the current constitution of every country in the world in its original language and at least one English translation.