Each year on September 17, Americans observe Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, commemorating the signing of one of the most important documents in United States history.
On September 17, 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention gathered in Philadelphia and signed the U.S. Constitution after months of debate over how the new national government should operate. Thirty-nine delegates ultimately signed the document at Independence Hall.
The Constitution then went to the states for ratification. The required ninth state, New Hampshire, ratified it in June 1788, and the new federal government began operating under the Constitution in 1789. The document established the framework for the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the federal government and a system of checks and balances among them.
The September 17 commemoration developed gradually. In 1940, Congress established “I Am an American Day,” originally observed on the third Sunday in May. In 1952, Congress moved the observance to September 17 and called it Citizenship Day, connecting the celebration with the anniversary of the Constitution’s signing.
Congress established Constitution Week in 1956, beginning each year on September 17. Then, in 2004, federal law designated September 17 as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. The law also requires educational institutions receiving federal funds to hold an educational program about the Constitution on September 17.
Today, Constitution Day provides an opportunity to learn about the nation’s founding document, the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, and the governmental system established more than two centuries ago.
