Constitution Day
Celebrate the Birth of Our United States Government
September 17, 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, delegates from all original states except Rhode Island gathered for the last time to sign the document they had created together over three months. 55 delegates attended, but only 39 actually signed the United States Constitution. New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, officially making it the law of the land. The New Hampshire Bar encourages all Americans, schools, and students to observe this important day in our nation’s history by (for examples):
Lesson Planning Resources
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- Creating your own family, classroom, or school-wide constitution.
- Inviting a lawyer to visit your classroom to lead an activity about the US Constitution.
- Learning more about how and why the Constitution was written, and how and why it changed over time.
- Reading about the signers of the Constitution and what they contributed to the process of writing. Two New Hampshire signers were Nicholas Gilman and John Langdon.
- Examining the purposes of the Constitution by studying the Preamble.
- Visiting the American Independence Museum and exploring working drafts of the Constitution in Exeter, NH.
- Singing a song about the Constitution and its Amendments – shared with permission from Dan Marcus, teacher and lawyer:
- Viewing the original document through the National Archives website and reading a transcript here.
- Signing your name to the US Constitution.
- Playing Constitution-themed games.
- Performing a play about the writing of the Constitution: “ Shhh … We’re Writing the Constitution.” By Jean Fritz
- Want more ideas?
- We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution
- Liberty Day
- Library of Congress
- National Archives: Resources
- National Constitution Center
- Bill of Rights Institute
- Constitutionally Speaking Video Series
- NH Dept. of Ed: Social Studies Curriculum
- Constitution Day & Citizenship Day Resources
- Constitutional Rights Foundation
- Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools
- Landmark Supreme Court Cases
- Street Law
History of Constitution Day
Commemorate Constitution Day on September 17
On this date in 1787 delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia signed the U.S. Constitution, a written charter for a new–and enduring–federal government. The delegates convened in Philadelphia to develop a framework that would provide balance and freedom, taking into account federal and state interests, as well as individual human rights. By June 21, 1788, the Constitution was effective, having been approved by nine of the 13 states.
In 2004, Congress required that all federally-funded schools observe “Constitution Day” by providing students with educational programs about the history and signing of the Constitution.
On December 8, 2004, President George W. Bush signed a bill designating September 17 as Constitution Day (if September 17 falls on a weekend, it may be observed another time around that date).
In May 2005, the US Department of Education, while announcing that all educational institutions receiving federal funding must observe Constitution Day, put forth guidelines stating educators are free to design Constitution Day programming that best addresses the needs of their students.
The goal of celebrating the September 17, 1787 signing of the US Constitution is to engage students in programming that will help them understand that citizen action and participation in government is the backbone of our country.