Constitution Day: A New Beginning for America's Experiment in Self-Government

It is said that as Benjamin Franklin observed delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia come forward and sign the new American Constitution he noted a sun carved on the back of George Washington's chair. Said Franklin, "I have noted in the course of the session... looked at [the sun] behind the President without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting; but now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun."

The signing and subsequent ratification of the U.S. Constitution represents a celebratory phase in the political experiment in self-government. On September 17, 1787 thirty-none men signed. James Madison was the convention's driving force. "There never was an assembly of men," said Madison, "charged with a great and arduous trust, who were more pure in their motives, or more exclusively and anxiously devoted to the object committed to them."

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) celebrates this important day in our nation's history by presenting activities, lesson plans, and information. NARA encourages teachers and students at all levels to learn more about our Constitution and government.

The National Constitution Center is located only steps away from Independence Hall in Philadelphia. It is also located on the Internet where teachers, students and constitutional scholars can access a variety of educational resources.

ConstitutionFacts.com provides visitors to its web site with a series of education resources and Internet links "to help educators comply with the new federal regulation requiring the development of student programming to celebrate Constitution Day."

We also highly recommend Annenberg Classroom, an ongoing project featuring an array of learning resources for teachers and students, including lesson plans, video resources, and multimedia materials in 14 different languages, all sponsored by the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands.

We also recommend Constitution Day materials provided by the Federal Court Educational Outreach, a project of the Federal Judiciary.

Podcasts are a relatively new education tool a growing number of educational institutions are embracing. We're pleased to recommend podcasts courtesy of the American Constitution Society for law and Policy at Stanford University Law School, the We the People Stories from the National Constitution Center, and the Lewis & Clark Law School Podcasts.

Finally, do you know where the first law school in the United States of America was founded? Many might be surprised to find it in Litchfield, Connecticut: the Litchfield Law School, founded by Tapping Reeve in 1784. It's buildings are preserved by the Litchfield Historical Society in northwestern Connecticut. For more information click here. For a list of the more than 1,100 graduates of this law school visit this link.

You may also visit the History Place to read the text of the American Constitution.