Constitution Day Initiative

Engaging students and the public in the meaning and role of the U.S. Constitution.

Constitution Day marks the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787. Initially celebrated as “I am an American Day” in May, it was moved to September 17 in the 1950s and renamed “Citizenship Day.” In 2004, Congress officially designated September 17 as Constitution Day, requiring public schools and government offices to promote constitutional literacy.

The Jack Miller Center honors this important national holiday by funding educational lectures nationwide, furthering its mission of civic literacy, and encouraging citizens to learn about the nation’s origins.

Constitution Day 2024 events around the country

• September 9, Skidmore College: “A Tale of Two Liberalisms: Desegregating American Political Thought” with JMC Scholar Susan McWilliams Barndt
• September 11, Saint Vincent College: “Constitutional Reset: SCOTUS’s Renewed Separation of Powers” with Adam Carrington
• September 13, Lee University: “14th Annual Constitution Day Quiz Bowl and Lecture“
• September 13, University of Missouri: “The Constitution and America’s New Racial Battle Lines” with Rogers Smith
• September 16, Arizona State University: “A Constitution for a Diverse Nation: Federalism and the Challenge of American Pluralism” with Michael Barone.
• September 16, North Greenville University: “What Can George Washington Teach Us About the Constitution” with William Reddinger
• September 16, Princeton University: “Government Corruption and Private Power” with Julia Mahoney 
• September 16, Villanova University: “How the Pursuit of Happiness Defines America” with Jeffrey Rosen
• September 16, Xavier University: “Who’s Responsible for Constitutional Rights?” with Miller Fellow Christina Bambrick.
• September 16-19, Rose State College: “Constitution Extravaganza” featuring Jack Rakove
• September 17, Assumption University: “Is America a Creedal Nation? A Jewish Perspective” with David P. Goldman
• September 17, Benedictine College: “President Kennedy’s Interpretation of the First Amendment” with Ryan T. Anderson
• September 17, Biola University: “Natural Rights, Virtue, and the Constitution” with Mark Blitz
• September 17, Catholic University of America: “Freedom from Religion or Freedom for Religion: Natural Rights & the American Constitution” with Vincent Phillip Muñoz 
• September 17, Claremont McKenna College: “History v. Originalism” with Jonathan Gienapp
• September 17, Michigan State University: “Disinformation, Demagoguery, and the First Amendment” with Charles Zug
• September 17, St. Ambrose University: “New York Times v. Sullivan and the Original Meaning of the First Amendment: Rethinking Libel and Freedom of Press” with JMC Scholar Carson Holloway
• September 17, Texas State University: “The Crisis Presidency” with Miller Fellow Benjamin Kleinerman
• September 17, Towson University: “Our Beliefs in/and the Constitution—Freedom of Religion, Then and Now” with Matthew Taylor and Ioanna Tourkochoriti
• September 17, University of South Carolina: “Adam Smith and Founding Economics: The Political Economy of the U.S. Constitution” with Samuel Gregg
• September 18, Great Hearts Institute: “The Constitution: Hidden Truths and Enduring Myths” with Miller Fellow Andrew Porwancher
• September 18, University if Nevada – Las Vegas: “Native Nations and Jefferson’s 1804 Constitution” with JMC Academic Council Member Jeremy Bailey
• September 18, West Virginia University: “The Constitution and Human Flourishing” with Samuel Gregg
• September 19, Cairn University: “Roger Sherman and the Creation of the American Republic” with Miller Fellow Mark David Hall
• September 19, University of Wisconsin – Madison: “The Spirit of Amity: The Constitution’s Forgotten Cover Letter and the Original Meaning of Civility” with Derek Webb
• September 20, Christendom College: “The Post-Constitutional Temptation” with JMC Scholar James Stoner Jr.
• September 20, Providence College: “Why September 17 Matters and What All Americans Should Know about Our Constitution” with Jerome Foss
• September 20, University of Georgia: “Of Kings and Presidents: Monarchy and the Framing of the Constitution” with Eric Nelson
• September 20, University of Houston: “State, Constitution, and the Death of Politics” with Jacob Howland
• September 20, Utah Valley University: “James Madison as the Founder of Founding” with James Ceaser
• September 23, Ursinus College: “James Baldwin, History, Responsibility, and Atonement” with Melvin Rogers
• September 24, Louisiana State University: “Government Corruption and Private Power” with Julia D. Mahoney
• Sepember 26, University of Toldeo: “Freedom from Religion or Freedom for Religion? Religious Liberty & American Constitutionalism” with Vincent Phillip Muñoz 
• September 27, Jacksonville State University: “Constitutional Interpretation & Civic Leadership in Polarized Times” with Drew Kurlowski and Kimberly Hurd Hale
• October 7, American University: “Can the Constitution Unify Americans?” with Yuval Levin
• October 10, SUNY-Geneseo: “A Defense of American Constitutionalism” with Marc Landy

Additional campuses hosting JMC-affiliated Constitution Day 2024 events

• Bellarmine University
• Boston College
• Christopher Newport University
• Faulkner University
• Oglethorpe University
• Pomona College
• Regent University
• Rhodes College 
• University of Tennessee at Chattanooga