LibGuides: Constitution Day and Voter Registration: Constitution Day

Available in the Library:

These books, plus many others, are available at the Library:

Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution by Richard Beeman
Call Number: KF 4510 .B44 2009
The Founders' Constitution by Philip B. Kurland
Call Number: KF 4502 .F68 2000
A Practical Companion to the Constitution: How the Supreme Court Has Ruled on Issues from Abortion to Zoning by Jethro Koller Lieberman
Call Number: KF 4548 .L54 1999

Constitutional Sites

Valley Forge is located less than an hour away from where the Constitutional Convention convened, debated and adopted the United States Constitution. Take advantage of the proximity and go visit!

Independence National Historical Park
Visit Independence Hall, where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were debated and adopted. The Liberty Bell is right across the street.
National Constitution Center
This interactive history museum is located only two blocks from Independence Hall and is devoted to the US Constitution and the story of We, the People.

Current Constitutional Issues

Constitutional issues were not just debated at the Constitutional Convention. They are still being interpreted today, whether it be through debates on gun control, freedom of speech, immigration, gay marriage, and tons more. Here are some websites on these issues:

Constitutional Law
This websites gives an overview of Constitutional law and how the Constitution is interpreted and implemented within our society.
JURIST: Legal News and Research
The University of Pittsburgh's School of Law has a website on current awareness of topics in legal news.

Celebrate Constitution Day

Constitution Resources

Delegates to the Constitutional Convention
This site from the National Archives gives brief biographies for each of the delegates to the Continental Convention, as well as a biographical overview of all the delegates.
Interactive Constitution
The full text of the US Constitution, as well as the ability to search the text, explore by topic, and search the text by Supreme Court decisions.
Bill of Rights
This website from the National Archives talks about the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.
Annotated Constitution of the United States
This annotated version of the Constitution provides the original text with commentary about the meaning of the original text and how it has changed since 1789. It contains legal analysis and interpretation of the United States Constitution, based primarily on Supreme Court case law. This resource is especially useful when researching the constitutional implications of a specific issue or topic.
Founders' Constitution
This site consists of extracts from the leading works of political theory, history, law, and constitutional argument on which the Framers and their contemporaries drew and which they themselves produced.
Journals of the Continental Congress
This website by the Library of Congress includes the records of the daily proceedings of the Congress.
The Constitutional Convention
This day by day summary of the Constitutional Convention shows when important decisions were made.
Madison and the Constitution
This lecture by a professor at Stanford University explores James Madison's background, his ideas about democracy, and his legacy as Father of the Constitution.
Preparing For The Oath: U.S. History And Civics For Citizenship
The Smithsonian Institute and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services teamed up for this website, which is a great place to learn all about American History and the Constitution.
Constitution USA | PBS
This series from PBS examines where the Constitution lives, how it works and how it doesn't - how it unites us as a nation and how it has nearly torn us apart.

Schoolhouse Rock!

Subject Guide

Melanie Oestreich

Constitution Fun

Life Without the Bill of Rights
Explore how life would be different without a Bill of Rights!
Constitution Day Crossword Puzzles
Eight crossword puzzles test your knowledge of the Constitution.
Constitution Day Treasure Hunt
These treasure hunts test your knowledge of the US Constitution, Supreme Court, Articles of Confederation, Founding Fathers, and Declaration of Independence.
Vote with the Delegates!
In this interactive experience, get taken back to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 where you will vote on important issues of the day, such as slavery, the election of Congress and taxation.