Constitution Day. Members of the Constitutional Convention signed the U.S. Constitution in 1787.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, 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.

—Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America, 1787.

So opens one of the most important political documents in American history and in the history of democratic governance. Throughout the American Revolution, the American colonies had been operating in a spirit of unity under the Articles of Confederation. While this document provided for centralized governance in certain areas such as military and monetary affairs, it stopped short of granting the central government any method of ensuring that states complied with its regulations. Following the successful bid for independence and several years of turmoil concerning how best to maintain unity without losing independence, representatives from each of the Colonies, now States, met over a period of four months to revise the Articles and draft a new government structure. Through much negotiation, the delegates debated over issues of state sovereignty and distribution of power between large and small States. The resulting document outlined the basic issues of government including structure, representation and regulation of interstate trade. In over 200 years, this document has been amended only 27 times, including the first ten, known as The Bill of Rights, which were added during George Washington's first term as President.

View thirteen lesson plans based on the writings of George Washington that were created in partnership with Consource.

EconEdLink

Constitution Costs (6–12) helps students understand the basic services provided for Americans in the United States Constitution and the necessity of a system of taxation to fund those services. Students debate the pros and cons of having governments fund and provide particular services.

EDSITEment

The Constitutional Convention: What the Founding Fathers Said (6–8) is designed to help students examine debates of the Constitutional Congress and to reflect on what can be learned from them about democratic statesmanship. The activities involve a close study of transcripts of the debates themselves, a dramatic recreation of some of the debates and a discussion of how democratic ideas were developed through these debates.

The Constitutional Convention: Four Founding Fathers You May Never Have Met (6–8) helps students learn about the perspectives and contributions to the drafting of the U.S. Constitution of some of the less-renowned of the Founding Fathers. The activities involve a biographical study of four of the Founders (Ellsworth, Hamilton, Paterson and Randolph), oral presentations arguing for their significance in the events of the period and a puzzle to match characteristic quotes with the men responsible for uttering them.

In the four-part unit James Madison: From Father of the Constitution to President (9–12), students list reasons why Madison is called the "Father of the Constitution," summarize significant issues from Madison's presidency that raised constitutional questions and explain the constitutional questions raised by these events.

The EDSITEment feature The Constitution of the United States of America (K–12) offers resources relating to the signing of the United States Constitution. Students can learn more about the Constitution by visiting the EDSITEment lesson plans and EDSITEment-reviewed Web sites referenced on this page.

In the unit The Preamble to the Constitution: How Do You Make a More Perfect Union? (3–5), students investigate the purposes of the U.S. Constitution, as identified in the Preamble to the Constitution. They also study fundamental values and principles as they are expressed in the Preamble.