Resources for Teaching the Constitution

Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is an American federal holiday that recognizes the ratification of the United States Constitution. It is observed on September 17, the day the members of the U.S. Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution in 1787. 

Here is a collection of resources to help with teaching the Constitution.   

APSA Papers and Articles

This Constitution: A Bicentennial Chronicle
22 essays to expand the discussion and knowledge-base about the Constitution and other historically relevant issues.

The three APSA journals -- APSR, PS, & Perspectives, have featured many articles on the Constitution, and on teaching the Constitution, American government, civic education, and related topics.  APSA journals are fully accessible online to APSA members and institutional (e.g., university library) subscribers.  For details, consult the membership pages of this site or information provided by your institution.  To view only the table of contents or abstracts from this or any of APSA's journals, please go our publisher's website: Cambridge University Press (http://journals.cambridge.org).

APSA maintains an online archive of selected articles for public view from the APSA journals:

• Online Archive List - By Topic
• Online Archive of Articles on American Government 
• Online Archive of Articles on Teaching American Government, Civic Education, and Related Topics 

Constitution Day and Other Constitution Education Resources

Constitution Day is an American federal holiday that recognizes the ratification of the United States Constitution. It is observed on September 17, the day the U.S. Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution in 1787.

The following are some resources for organizing Constitution Day events on your campus:

National Constitution Center -- Constitution Day Resources
Includes lesson plans for college, high school and middle school teachers.

Center for Civic Education - Lessons for Constitution Day and Citizenship Day - Lessons for pre-college classes.

University of Maryland Constitution Day Site  - This University of Maryland University College site contains information to help teach the meaning and history of the Constitution.  It includes a set of online resources for specifically for teachers, for the adult learner, and for children.

Justice Learning Constitution Day Resources - This contains resources for Constitution Day teaching.  It includes live interviews with Supreme Court Justices and articles from major newspapers.

U.S. Courts Constitution Day Resources  - A variety of resources from the website of the Federal Judiciary System that includes links to classroom handouts and interactive games.

National Archives Celebrates Constitution Day 

Constitution Day Speech by USC Dean Howard Gillman (audio stream)
Listen to a speech given in Sept 2007 by USC Dean Howard Gillman.  The speech,  “Conversation on the Constitution,” was organized as a symposium with USC faculty and graduate students and focused on the war on terror’s implications for freedom, civil liberties and the historic balance of powers among the three branches of government. Dr. Gillman is a professor of political science and history, leading scholar of the Constitution and judicial politics, and chair of the APSA Law and Courts Organized Section.