Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library

Constitution Day Resources

The Federal Convention convened in the State House (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787, to revise the Articles of Confederation. Because the delegations from only two states were at first present, the members adjourned from day to day until a quorum of seven states was obtained on May 25. Through discussion and debate it became clear by mid-June that, rather than amend the existing Articles, the Convention would draft an entirely new frame of government. All through the summer, in closed sessions, the delegates debated, and redrafted the articles of the new Constitution. Among the chief points at issue were how much power to allow the central government, how many representatives in Congress to allow each state, and how these representatives should be elected--directly by the people or by the state legislators. The work of many minds, the Constitution stands as a model of cooperative statesmanship and the art of compromise.

A provision to an appropriations bill passed in late 2004 bring a new observance to our calendar. This is not a federal holiday but rather a day when all teachers, students and federal executive employees of the United States are to observe Constitution Day on with some sort of edifying lesson, program, or distributed materials about our Constitution. September 17th, the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, is the official date for the observance but the day may be observed either the week prior to or the week following the 17th if the official observance falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday.

Constitutional & Related Historical Documents

Teaching Resources

Fast Facts

Top 10 Ways to Grow as a Citizen

What's Your Constitutional IQ?

Constitution and Related Historical Documents

GPO Access

Constitution Main Page: The Government Printing Office produces the Constitution in several formats, and links to them all here. This page showcases the Congressional Research Service (CRS) publication The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation: Annotations of Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in its 1992 edition with supplements for 1996, 1998, and 2000. Other versions included are: The U.S. Constitution with the Declaration of Independence, The U.S. Constitution as Amended, with Unratified Amendments & Analytical Index, and The Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence, Pocket Edition.

Library of Congress

Primary Documents in American History: U.S. Constitution: The Library of Congress provides a central access point to a number of links to its various online resources. Some of the links included are

National Archives

Charters of Freedom: Constitution of the United States: The National Archives presents high resolution images of the fading parchment Constitution and Bill of Rights. This sight includes links to:
- A More Perfect Union: A brief history of the creation of the Constitution.
- Questions and Answers regarding the Constitution.

United States Senate

Virtual Reference Desk: This site provides a large list of resources on the Constitution which includes information on amending the Constitution and the Senate's relationship to the Constitution. The Senate site also includes a version which places each section of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and subsequent amendments alongside a brief and simple explanations.

Teaching Resources:

National Archives

Teaching with Documents: Observing Constitution Day: This site celebrates this important day in our nation's history by presenting activities, lesson plans, and information on the U.S. Constitution. Activities include:

National Endowment for the Humanities

Constitution Day: This provides a number of curriculum guides that center around the U.S. Constitution, its framing, ratification, authors and current interpretations. These curriculum guides include:

National Constitution Center

The Centuries of Citizenship: A Constitutional Timeline is an online experience highlighting some of the key dates and events that mark more than 200 years of our constitutional history. These timeline entries, taken as a whole, tell the evolving story of the U.S. Constitution and the continuing role that it plays in our lives.

Justice Learning

Constitution Day Educational Materials: This site, a cooperative effort between National Public Radio (NPR), the Annenberg Foundation Trust, and the New York Times offers a generous list of links to various curriculum guides and educational articles regarding the U.S. Constitution.

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