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Syracuse University Libraries

Government Information: U.S. Constitution

A guide for finding government information.

Constitution Day

In Celebration of Constitution Day :  September 17

Image of the beginning text of the United States Constitution

On September 17, 1787, the United States Constitution was signed by 39 of the 55 delegates attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Delegates from 12 states had gathered at the Convention with the purpose of revising the nation's first written charter, the Articles of Confederation. Instead, they discarded the nation's first system of government and created a new one they believed would provide the United States with a strong national government to deal with the many challenges of the Confederation. The Constitution was subsequently ratified by each of the original 13 states.

In 2004, Congress designated September 17 as a day to commemorate the Constitution.

 

To find out more about our Constitution:

Use the Library's Online Catalog to locate resources like:

  • Author: Cooke, Edward Francis, 1923-
    Title: A detailed analysis of the Constitution
    Edition: 7th ed.
    Published: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, c2002.
    Location: Bird-4th Floor
    Call Number: KF4550.Z9 C676 2002
  • Author: Fallon, Richard H., 1952-
    Title: The dynamic Constitution : an introduction to American constitutional law
    Published: Cambridge, U.K. ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2004.
    Location: Bird-4th Floor
    Call Number: KF4550 .F35 2004
  • Title: Encyclopedia of the American Constitution
    Edition: 2nd ed.
    Published: New York : Macmillan Reference USA, c2000.
    Location: Bird-Reference, 2nd Floor (does not circulate)
    Call Number: KF4548 .E53 2000
  • Author: Lidsky, Lyrissa Barnett, 1968-
    Title: Freedom of the press: a reference guide to the United States Constitution
    Published: Westport, Conn. : Praeger, 2004.
    Location: Bird-4th Floor
    Call Number: KF4774.L53 2004
  • Author: Lieberman, Jethro Koller.
    Title: A practical companion to the Constitution: how the Supreme Court has ruled on issues from abortion to zoning
    Published: Berkeley : University of California Press, c1999.
    Location: Bird-Reference, 2nd Floor (does not circulate)
    Call Number: KF4548 .L54 1999
  • Author: Stewart, David O.
    Title: The summer of 1787: the men who invented the Constitution
    Published: New York : Simon & Schuster, c2007.
    Location: Bird-4th Floor
    Call Number: KF4510 .S74 2007
  • Author: Hennessey, Jonathan.
    Title: The United States Constitution : a graphic adaptation
    Published: New York : Hill and Wang, 2008.
    Location: Bird-3rd Floor
    Call Number: E303.H46 2008

Constitution Day

Web resources for the US Constitution

Other Links to the Constitution

Database sources - SU access only