Constitution Day 2021

Constitution Day commemorates the formation and signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787, recognizing all who are born in the United States, or by naturalization, have become citizens.

In 1940, the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution establishing the 3rd Sunday in May each year as “I am an American Day” – to recognize all who have attained American Citizenship either by the coming of age or by naturalization. In 1952, Congress repealed the 1940 joint resolution and passed a new law establishing September 17 as “Citizenship Day”, to commemorate the signing of the US Constitution and to celebrate and recognize all who have attained US Citizenship. In 2004, Congress changed the 1952 designation to “Constitution Day and Citizenship Day” and added two amendments. The amendment most relevant to educational institutions is: “each educational institution that receives Federal funds for a fiscal year shall hold an educational program on the United States Constitution on September 17 of such year for the students served by the educational institution” (Section 111b of Title 36 of the United States Code).

FSU Libraries celebrate the creation and significance of the U.S. Constitution with a virtual exhibit to showcase how our resources support teaching and learning about the Constitution. As a member of the Federal Depository Library Program, FSU Libraries provides free, equitable access to U.S. government publications to the public. The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) was created by Congress to ensure that all Americans have access to published government information. FSU Libraries became a member of the FDLP in 1941. We hope you enjoy our exhibit below. As a special addition, we have included a link to a virtual tour of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia so students can continue to celebrate and explore safely at home. For additional resources about the Constitution, please visit our Constitution Day research guide at: https://guides.lib.fsu.edu/constitutionday. 
 

Electronic Resources

The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787	The Founding Fathers' Papers : Ensuring Public Access to our National Treasures	A Revolution in Favor of Government : Origins of the U.S. Constitution and the Making of the American state
The Constitution: Major Cases and Conflicts	The Constitution: An Introduction	National Constitution Center Online Events for Constitution Day
The Living Constitution	U.S. Federal Government Events Celebrating Constitution Day: The National Archives	Constitution Day Teacher Resources
A Reference Guide to the U.S. Constitution and its Interpretation: The United States Senate	U.S. Census Constitution Day Resources and Activities	U.S. Census Constitution Day Resources and Activities
Supreme Court Landmarks	Virtual Tours of The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia	[LegisBrief] Amending the US Constitution from the National Conference of State Legislators
Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation	The Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence: Pocket Edition	The Founding Documents: National Archives
Constitution annotated : analysis and interpretation of the U.S. Constitution	Constitutional Conventions: Their Nature, Powers, and Limitations	Designating September 17 as Constitution Day, 1987
Constitution Day Website	Constitute: Global Constitution Database	FSU Libraries Constitution Day Research Guide