Constitution Day: U.S. Constitution Signed, Sent to the States for Ratification
Delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the new U.S. Constitution on this day and sent it to the states for ratification.
The anniversary of the signing is now celebrated as Constitution Day. The Constitution provided that the document needed to be ratified by nine states to become adopted. New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, on June 21, 1788. The first Congress was seated on March 4, 1789.
By federal law, educational institutions in the U.S. are required to hold an event about the Constitution every year on Constitution Day.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered the most extraordinary Constitution Day address on September 17, 1937, in which he made extreme claims of presidential power and promised to act on fighting the Depression if Congress failed to act.
Read the best book on the history of the Constitution: Akhil Reed Amar, America’s Constitution: A Biography (2006)
Look for local Constitution Day celebrations in your community.
Read the Federalist Papers, which were critical in the ratification of the Constitution: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, The Federalist Papers (many editions available)