Celebrate the Bill of Rights on December 12 at 7 pm
Press Release · Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Washington, DC

Celebrate the uniqueness and influence of the Bill of Rights on Thursday, December 12, at 7 pm.  The event is free and open to the public and will be held in the William G. McGowan Theater of the National Archives Museum in Washington, DC, and live streamed on the National Archives YouTube channel. Attendees should use the Special Events entrance on Constitution Avenue at 7th Street, NW.  Metro accessible on the Yellow and Green lines, Archives/Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter station. Registration online here.   

A panel of scholars and authors will explore the unique history of the U.S. Bill of Rights, and the ways in which it has influenced national constitutions around the world from 1791 to today.  Moderated by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, and professor of history at Stanford University, Jack Rakove, panelists include David O. Stewart, attorney and author of Madison’s Gift: Five Partnerships That Built America;  Constitutional scholar Linda R. Monk, author of The Bill Of Rights: A User’s Guide; and John D. Bessler, professor of law, University of Baltimore School of Law and adjunct professor, Georgetown University Law Center.  A book signing of The Bill of Rights: A User’s Guide will follow the program.  Presented in partnership with The Constitutional Sources Project (ConSource).

The Bill of Rights protects freedom of speech, press, religion, and assembly, among many other rights. The document on permanent display in the National Archives Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom is the enrolled original Joint Resolution passed by Congress in 1789, proposing 12 amendments to the Constitution. The 10 that were ratified became known as the Bill of Rights.

Related online resources:
Congress Creates the Bill of Rights - eBook and mobile app
The Bill of Rights - DocsTeach 
Transcription of the enrolled original of the Joint Resolution of Congress proposing the Bill of Rights
Hi-res downloads of the Bill of Rights