Every year, Constitution Day marks the signing of of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787. Although Independence Day and Presidents’ Day were marked as such for many years, it was not until 1940 that the seeds of a Constitution Day were planted. “I am an American Day” was celebrated on the third Sunday of May and celebrated American citizenship. The holiday quickly gained popularity across the United States and the date was changed to September 17 during the 1950s to better reflect the origins of American citizenship. The name of the day also became the simpler “Citizenship Day.”
It was not until 2004 that Congress designated September 17 as Constitution Day alongside the existing Citizenship Day. This designation required all public schools and government offices to hold educational programming to promote constitutional literacy. The Jack Miller Center honors this important date every year by funding educational lectures across the country. These lectures further the Center’s mission of civic literacy and encourage citizens to learn more about our country’s origins.
Below is a collection of resources featured for Constitution Day 2023. Browse these resources or jump from section to section by clicking the links below:
Campus Events
In 2023, 43 campuses and institutions around the nation are partnering with the Jack Miller Center to conduct Constitution Day events for students and the public. This day engages students in conversations about the role and meaning of the Constitution in American political life.
2023 Constitution Day Events
August 30-September 9
Constitution Day Lecture, Utah Valley University
August 30, 2023 – 11:00 AM MT
A lecture with Steven Pittz – watch a recording of the lecture!
Franklin Fellows Retreat, Emory University
September 2-3, 2023
An undergraduate student retreat examining factionalism in the Federalist Papers.
Professional Development Workshop, Eastern Kentucky University
September 9, 2023 – 9:30 AM ET
A professional development workshop for teachers with Joshua Douglas and Gleen Crothers
September 10-16
Constitution Day Extravaganza, Rose State College
September 11-15, 2023
Five events from Monday, September 11 through Friday, September 15
Ancient Avengers: How the Heroes of the Hebrew Bible Inspire the American Story, George Fox University
September 12, 2023 – 4:30 PM PT
A lecture with Stuart Halpern
Assessing the Electoral College in the 21st Century, University of West Florida
September 13, 2023 – 6:00 PM ET
A lecture with Keith Whittington
The Constitutional Politics of Abortion Policy After Dobbs, Campbell University
September 13, 2023 – 5:00 PM ET
A lecture with John Dinan
The First Amendment, the Academy, and the Media: Restoring a Marketplace of Ideas, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga
September 13, 2023 – 7:30 PM ET
A lecture and symposium with Joshua Dunn – watch a recording of the lecture!
The Forgotten Role of the Republican Virtue in the American Constitution, Texas State University
September 13, 2023 – 7:00 PM CT
A lecture with David Williams
Amending the Constitution: Twin Jeopardies, Arizona State University
September 14, 2023 – 6:30 PM AZT
A lecture with Russ Feingold
Challenging Cancel Culture: Can Gen Z Change Course?, Bipartisan Policy Center
September 14, 2023 – 9:00 AM ET
A panel with students Rachel Lia, Justo A. Triana, and Morgan Womack, moderated by JMC faculty partner Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill – watch a recording of the discussion!
Mercy Otis Warren: The Constitution and American Memory, Oglethorpe University
September 14, 2023 – 5:00 PM ET
A lecture with Kirstin Anderson Birkhaug – watch a recording of the lecture!
Who Gets to Make the Law? The Legislative Power at the Founding and Today, Middlebury College
September 14, 2023
A lecture with James Stoner
13th Annual Constitution Day Quiz Bowl with Public Address, Lee University
September 15, 2023
With remarks from Lee University President Mark Walker
The Framing Generation and Female Genius, University of Georgia
September 15, 2023 – 2:00 PM ET
A lecture with Mary Sarah Bilder – watch a recording of the lecture!
Lincoln’s Constitutionalism
and
Thinkin’ about Lincoln, University of Houston
September 15, 2023 – 1:00 PM CT
Two lectures with Michael Zuckert
Reflective Patriotism and Civic Friendship: Educating for American Democracy in a Polarized Age, Jacksonville State University
September 15, 2023 – 3:00 PM ET
A discussion with Jane Kamensky and Paul Carrese – watch a recording here!
September 17-23
Alexis de Tocqueville’s Theory of Democracy and the U.S. Constitution, University of Alaska, Anchorage
September 17, 2023 – 7:30 AKT
A lecture with Oliver Zunz delivered in conjunction with the annual James Madison Cup Competition (September 16) – watch it here!
Canadian Reflections on the American Constitution, University of Dallas
September 17, 2023
A lecture with Kimberley Burns
The Crisis Presidency, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
September 18, 2023 – 4:00 PM PT
A lecture with Benjamin Kleinerman
How to Celebrate the Constitution, Assumption University
September 18, 2023 – 5:30 PM ET
A lecture with Steven B. Smith
Is the Administrative State Constitutional?, American University
September 18, 2023 – 5:30 PM ET
A lecture with Johnathan O’Neill
Lloyd Gaines and the Fight to End Segregation, Lincoln University of Missouri
September 18, 2023 – 2:00 PM CT
A lecture with James Endersby – watch it here!
Presidential Succession and Fitness for Office: An Enduring Question with Boilermaker Roots, Purdue University
September 18, 2023 – 2:00 PM ET
A lecture with John Feerick
Restoring the Constitutional Integrity of Title IX, Baylor University
September 18, 2023
A lecture with Elizabeth Kaufer Busch
Soldier-Citizens & Citizen Soldiers: Spiritedness and the Constitution, Institute of World Politics
September 18, 2023 – 5:00 PM ET
A lecture with Rebecca Burgess
The Supreme Court’s Traditionalist Turn, Princeton University
September 18, 2023 – 4:30 PM ET
A lecture with Sherif Girgis
Thomas Paine and the Continuing Relevance of Common Sense in America, Xavier University
September 18, 2023 – 4:00 PM ET
A colloquium and lecture with Katherine Robiadek
“To Establish Justice”: Medgar Evers & the Problem of Responsibility, Linfield University
September 18, 2023 – 12:30 PM PT
A lecture with Nicholas Buccola
Toward a More Constructive Constitutional Debate: Citizen and Civic Respect in the New Roaring ’20s, Biola University
September 18, 2023 – 2:00 PM PT
A lecture with Hannah Durbin
2023 Constitution Day Lecture, University of Oklahoma
September 20, 2023 – 1:30 PM CT
A discussion with Jonathan Gienapp and Anne Twitty
Big Tech and Civil Rights: How Should Government Regulate Speech Online?, Rochester Institute of Technology
September 21, 2023 – 4:00 PM ET
A discussion with Christina Bambrick, Michelle Chun, and Josephine Wolff
The Myth of Left and Right: How the Political Spectrum Undermines Constitutional Government in the United States, Michigan State University
September 21, 2023 – 5:00 PM ET
A lecture with Verlan Lewis and Hyrum Lewis
The Supreme Court and Race-Based College Admissions, Villanova University
September 21, 2023 – 4:15 PM ET
A lecture with Jonathan Turley
Thomas Jefferson and His Bible: A Reconsideration, Duke University
September 21, 2023 – 4:00 PM ET
A lecture with Thomas Kidd
What Happened to the Vital Center? Presidentialism, the Populist Revolt, and the Fracturing of America, University of Nebraska, Omaha
September 21, 2023 – 1:00 PM CT
A lecture with Sidney Milkis
The Constitution and American Democracy, Louisiana State University
September 22, 2023 – 12:40 PM CT
A lecture with Joshua Sellers – watch it here!
From The Mountains to The Suburbs: Sacred Spaces Under Religious Liberty Law, Bellarmine University
September 22, 2023 – 3:00 PM ET
A lecture with David C. Scott
What Should You Do If You Think the Supreme Court is Wrong?, Providence College
September 22, 2023 – 3:30 PM ET
A lecture with R. Shep Melnick
September 24-30
Saving Democracy from Itself: Tocqueville & the Constitution, Christopher Newport University
September 26, 2023 – 3:00 PM ET
A discussion with Joseph Knippenberg and Daniel Cullen
Do We Really Have Bill of Rights in America?, Christendom College
September 27, 2023
A lecture with Jerome C. Foss
The Moral Case for the Constitution’s Original Meaning, Benedictine College
September 28, 2023 – 5:15 PM CT
A lecture with J. Joel Alicea
The battle for the soul of our nation will be won or lost in our classrooms.™ –Jack Miller
Abraham Lincoln, “Fragment on the Constitution and Union” c. January 1861 From the Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln:
“All this is not the result of accident. It has a philosophical cause. Without the Constitution and the Union, we could not have attained the result; but even these, are not the primary cause of our great prosperity. There is something back of these, entwining itself more closely about the human heart. That something, is the principle of “Liberty to all” — the principle that clears the path for all — gives hope to all — and, by consequence, enterprize, and industry to all.”
Selected online resources for Constitution Day:
Constituting America Live Virtual Workshop with Hans Zeiger
September 15, 2023 – 2:00 PM ET
JMC President Hans Zeiger appears as a special guest on Constituting America’s Constitution Day Virtual Workshops. Hans will lead a live session on “The Constitution & Communication”
Explore Constituting America workshops here >>
ContextUS
ContextUSContextUS is a new collaborative project between the Jack Miller Center and Sefaria. Both nonprofit organizations share a firm commitment to improve public knowledge of America’s founding principles and history. Our free tool is designed to use the best of 21st century technology to revive the ideas, texts, and traditions that laid the foundation for our free society.
Our vision is for an informed and engaged citizenry. In the words of James Madison, Father of the American Constitution, “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who means to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives”.
ContextUS provides a platform for users to read texts, search concepts, and engage others in conversation. As our name suggests, our goal is to provide historical and philosophical context to modern political debates. In the age of internet misinformation, ContextUS brings Americans straight to the source.
Click here to explore the library >>
The New Thinkery: Ben Kleinerman on the Federalist Papers
In honor of Constitution Day 2021, The New Thinkery podcast hosted a special Constitution Day episode with Benjamin Kleinerman, JMC board member and R.W. Morrison Chair of Political Science at Baylor University. From JMC’s 2021 Summer Institute, the group discussed several of the Federalist Papers and what their respective authors thought the U.S. regime need be wary of as it progressed.
Listen to The New Thinkery on Apple Podcasts, Libsyn, Spotify, and Audible >>
The National Constitution Center
The National Constitution CenterThe National Constitution Center in Philadelphia has several online resources for learning about the Constitution, its background, and current constitutional controversies.
Visit the National Constitution Center website >>
Fellow Greg Weiner’s Views on Teaching Constitution Day
Fellow Greg Weiner’s Views on Teaching Constitution Day“When I assign students in my American Government classes to read the Constitution, a document whose birthday the nation commemorates on September 17, I ask them how many have read the main body of it—really read it, front to back—before. Few raise their hands. They are college freshman and sophomores, mostly, having generally graduated from high schools with civics requirements…”
Read the rest of the article at the Huffington Post >>
*If you are a JMC fellow who’s published on Constitution Day or its history, and would like your work included here, send it to us at academics@gojmc.org.
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