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Celebrate Constitution Day with the National Archives (virtually)
Press Release · Thursday, September 9, 2021

Washington, DC

The National Archives celebrates the 234th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution with a book talk, “The People’s Constitution: 200 Years, 27 Amendments, and the Promise of a More Perfect Union,” a kids’ program with James Madison, and We Rule! - our new civics initiative! The National Archives is the permanent home of the original Constitution. Constitution Day celebrates the signing of this landmark document in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787. These programs are free, but advanced registration is encouraged. See Celebrating Constitution Day for an array of related online resources.

The People’s Constitution: 200 Years, 27 Amendments, and the Promise of a More Perfect Union
Friday, September 17, at 1 pm ET; Reserve a Seat, View on YouTube
Authors John Kowal and Wilfred Codrington III will discuss how generations have reshaped our founding document—the U.S. Constitution—amid some of the most colorful, contested, and controversial battles in American political life. It’s a story of how We the People have improved our government’s structure and expanded the scope of our democracy during eras of transformational social change.

Meet James Madison
Thursday, September 16, at 11 am ET, Reserve a Seat, View on YouTube
In this National Archives Comes Alive! Young Learners Program, James Madison (portrayed by John Douglas Hall), fourth President of the United States, known as the “Father of the Constitution,” will reflect on his role in the creation of the Constitution in the summer of 1787 and the controversy surrounding the seminal document.

Constitution Day Programs and Teaching Resources
We Rule: Civics for All of US - our new civics initiative – just in time for Constitution Day!
Get Ready for Constitution Day!
Bring the Constitution to Life! - DocsTeach page highlighting educational resources
Amending America on DocsTeach learn about the amendment process 
Teaching the Constitution…Virtually
First Amendment - Upholding Student Rights in the 20th Century: An Examination of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District
Fifth Amendment - Pleading the Fifth: Lillian Hellman and the HUAC Investigation of Hollywood
Eighth Amendment - Locked Up: Exploring Prisoner Rights and the Eighth Amendment
19th Amendment - Forging a Path to the 19th Amendment: Understanding Women’s Suffrage
Founders Online - Read about the creation of the Constitution and the founding of the nation through the words of the Founders themselves. 

Related past public programs:
The Electoral College and the Constitution (2020) with Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), and Georgetown Law professor Anthony Cook 
OMG WTF Does the Constitution Actually Say? A Non-Boring Guide to How Our Democracy Is Supposed to Work (2020) - with political savant and entertainment veteran Ben Sheehan 
“George to George” Shaping the Nation by Our Constitution (2020) Constitutional Law expert Thomas Borcher examines how the Constitution shaped the Presidencies of George Washington and George H.W. Bush
The Nature of Constitutional Rights
For Us, By Us: Trust In, and Expectations of, the Constitution
The New American Constitution
The Future of Policy Making
Is the Constitution Still Working for America?

This page was last reviewed on September 10, 2021.
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