LibGuides: Government Documents: U.S. Constitution

Links

The Constitution at the National Archives
View high resolution images of the original, signed Constitution and obtain a transcription of the document. Read about the history of the Constitution including details of the Constitutional Convention and biographical information about each of the signers of the Constitution.
CRS Annotated Constitution
From the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University from content prepared by the Congressional Research Service(CRS) at the Library of Congress. "This edition is a hypertext interpretation of the CRS text. It links to Supreme Court opinions, the U.S. Code, and the Code of Federal Regulations, as well as enhancing navigation through linked footnotes and tables of contents."
Interactive Constitution from the National Constitution Center
Lets you search the Constitution by keyword, topic, and Supreme Court decisions.
Primary Documents in American History: United States Constitution
Links to a variety of online resources including items in the American Memory Historical Collections (e.g., Max Farrand's The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention Broadsides Collection), exhibitions, "Today in History", external web sites, and selected bibliographies.
Key Constitutional Concepts
This three-part documentary discusses why
and how the Constitution was created at the Constitutional Convention and explores the protection of individuals’ rights in the Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright and limits on presidential power through checks and balances in the Supreme Court case Youngstown v. Sawyer.
ConstitutionFacts.com
Quizzes, puzzles, quotes, important dates, etc.
The Constitution Project
"A bipartisan nonprofit organization that seeks consensus on controversial legal and constitutional issues through a unique combination of scholarship and activism." Initiatives include: War Powers, Liberty and Security, Death Penalty, Courts, Constitutional Amendments, Right to Counsel, and Sentencing.
The Founders' Constitution
A joint venture of the University of Chicago Press and the Liberty Fund, this anthology features the writings of people who impacted the creation of the U.S. Constitution.
The Constitution: That Delicate Balance
The Emmy Award winning, 13 part video instructional series on the American Constitution produced in 1984 by “Columbia University Seminars on Media and Society." A free online registration links college and high school students and adult learners to these one hour dialogues. Each explores the Constitution as it relates to a realistic hypothetical scenario. Discussion participants include important national players of that time, drawn from government, business and journalism, with program introductions by television pioneer, Fred W. Friendly.

Constitution Day

In Celebration of Constitution Day

September 17

On September 17, 1787, the United States Constitution was signed by 39 of the 55 delegates attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Delegates from 12 states had gathered at the Convention with the purpose of revising the nation's first written charter, the Articles of Confederation. Instead, they discarded the nation's first system of government and created a new one they believed would provide the United States with a strong national government to deal with the many challenges of the Confederation. The Constitution was subsequently ratified by each of the original 13 states.

In 2004, Congress designated September 17 as a day to commemorate the Constitution.

Books about the Constitution

The Living Constitution by David A. Strauss
Call Number: KF4550 .S78 2010
ISBN: 9780195377279
Publication Date: 2010-05-19
The Dynamic Constitution by Richard H. Fallon
Call Number: KF4550 .F35 2004
ISBN: 0521840945
Publication Date: 2004-09-06