Celebrate Constitution Day!: Constitution Resources

The Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom is the permanent home of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, and Bill of Rights. These three documents, known collectively as the Charters of Freedom, have secured the rights of the American people for more than two and a quarter centuries and are considered instrumental to the founding and philosophy of the United States.

America’s search for a plan of national government was a slow, difficult process. Compromise, cooperation, and creativity were required as the Americans moved from being colonials in a patriarchal monarchy to citizen-leaders in a representative republic of federal states.

Known commonly as CONAN, the Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation, or Constitution Annotated, is a publication provided by the Congressional Research Service. The document includes in-text annotations of cases addressed by the Supreme Court.

Contains 277 documents relating to the work of Congress and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution. Items include extracts of the journals of Congress, resolutions, proclamations, committee reports, treaties, and early printed versions of the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

BRI’s primary sources and other helpful resources regarding the Constitution.

The National Constitution Center brings together people of all ages and perspectives, across America and around the world, to learn about, debate, and celebrate the greatest vision of human freedom in history, the U.S. Constitution.

In 2010, the National Archives, through its National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), entered into a cooperative agreement with The University of Virginia Press to create this site and make freely available online the historical documents of the Founders of the United States of America. Through this website, you can read and search through thousands of records from George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison and see firsthand the growth of democracy and the birth of the Republic.

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence declared that American colonists were breaking free from British rule. In 1787, the Constitution established the United States government

If you had been a member of the Second Continental Congress in 1776, you were a rebel and considered a traitor by the King. You knew that a reward had been posted for the capture of certain prominent rebel leaders and the largest British armada ever assembled was just outside New York harbor. Affixing your name to the document meant that you pledged your life, your fortune, and your sacred honor to the cause of freedom.

"The Constitution, drafted in 1787 after a hard-won victory in the War for Independence, codified the spirit of the Revolution into an ingenious practical scheme of government to promote the welfare of all its citizens".

While debating the adoption of the Constitution, its opponents, demanded a "bill of rights" that would spell out the immunities of individual citizens. the First Congress of the United States proposed to the state legislatures 12 amendments to the Constitution. Articles 3-12 were ratified and constitute the first 10 ammendments of the Constitution known as the Bill of Rights.

In June 1776, Thomas Jefferson composed a draft of the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration announced to the world the separation of the thirteen colonies from Great Britain and the establishment of the United States of America.

Together, the three documents, The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights are known as the Charters of Freedom.

This interactive guide to the U.S. Constitution provides the original text and an explanation of the meaning of each article and amendment. The guide is an excellent research tool for students to use to gain a deeper understanding of one of our nation’s founding documents and the establishment of the federal government.

The video library contains two series: The Constitution Project, which comprises award-winning documentaries of landmark Supreme Court cases, and Conversations on the Constitution, in which Supreme Court justices discuss constitutional topics with high school students.