Did you know…

Many things people believe are in the U.S. Constitution are not really there. For instance, the phrase "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" is commonly attributed to the Constitution, but it comes from the Declaration of Independence. The phrase "separation of church and state" does not appear anywhere in the Constitution.
Read more at: Things that are not in the Constitution

How much do you know about the Constitution?

Would the Constitution have passed without the Bill of Rights?
Is the 15th Amendment going to expire?
Who wrote the Preamble?
What does the Constitution have to say about capital punishment?
What is the line of Presidential succession?

Find the answers at: Facts about the Constitution.

Constitution Day Links

Click below to view other great sites.

Wise Words

"Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties."

- Abraham Lincoln

Columbus State Community College Celebrates Constitution Day!

The Constitution is a document embodying the fundamental principles upon which the American republic is conducted. It shaped our history and charts our future in this country. It is our hope that this website will educate and inform the students, staff and faculty about the uniqueness of our Constitution and to show the need to protect and defend it to maintain our liberties.

What is Constitution Day?

Liberty Bell Most Americans know that July 4th is our nation's birthday. Far fewer Americans know that September 17th is the birthday of our government, the date in 1787 on which delegates to the Philadelphia Convention completed and signed the U.S. Constitution.

The ideas on which America was founded--commitments to the rule of law, limited government and the ideals of liberty, equality and justice--are embodied in the Constitution, the oldest written constitution of any nation on Earth. Constitution Day is intended to celebrate not only the birthday of our government, but the ideas that make us Americans.

Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia accomplished a long-standing goal, passing a law designating September 17th as Constitution Day. Schools and federal agencies are required to hold educational programs on the Constitution on Constitution Day.

Preamble

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Philadelphia Postcard
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America and is the oldest written national constitution still in force. It was completed on September 17, 1787, with its adoption by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was later ratified by special conventions in each of the thirteen United States. It created a more unified and defined government in place of what was then a group of semi-independent states operating under the Articles of Confederation. It took effect in 1789 and has served as a model for the constitutions of numerous other nations. The original copy of the Constitution is on permanent display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.