Observed annually since 1952, Constitution Day commemorates the signing of the U.S. Constitution, which occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 17, 1787. The Constitution, a uniquely American document, implements the ideals contained in the Declaration of Independence and sets the stage for the guarantees contained in the Bill of Rights. Sept. 17, 2021, marks the 234th anniversary of the signing of this enduring document.
Recognizing the Constitution’s supreme importance to our nation, Congress passed a law in 2004 requiring every federal agency to provide each employee with educational and training materials concerning the Constitution on Sept. 17. Additionally, Congress declared that all educational institutions receiving federal funds should hold a program for students each Sept. 17.
Images of the U.S. Constitution from National Archives and Records Administration
2024 Event:The Election of 1824 and the History of Contested Presidential Elections
Thursday, September 19 | 8 p.m. | Gillis Theater, Marshall Hall
Sponsored by VMI's Department of History, this year's main event will be a panel discussion focused on the theme of “The Election of 1824 and the History of Contested Presidential Elections.” The panel discussion will use the extraordinary presidential election of 1824 as a jumping off point for a broader discussion of the constitutional changes and challenges related to presidential elections.
Michael E. Woods Professor, Director of the Andrew Jackson Papers | American History UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE Specialties: Early Republic and Antebellum U.S., Civil War Era, Political History, Cultural History, History of Emotions, Slavery and Emancipation
Michael E. Woods is the author of “Arguing until Doomsday: Stephen Douglas, Jefferson Davis, and the Struggle for American Democracy" as well as "Emotional and Sectional Conflict in the Antebellum United States."
Reeve Huston Associate Professor of History DUKE UNIVERSITY Specialties: U.S. Political History, History of Capitalism
Reeve Huston is the author of “Land and Freedom: Rural Society, Popular Protest, and Party Politics in Antebellum New York,” and is currently completing a second book, “Reforging American Democracy: Political Practices in the United States, 1812–1840.
We are grateful to the Jackson-Hope Fund for their support and generous funding of this event, as well as ongoing support of civic education at VMI.
Past Events
The theme for the 2023 Constitution Day commemoration is The Constitution in Wartime. In acknowledgement of the 20th anniversary of the 2nd Iraq War, and with the support of the Jackson-Hope Board, VMI will hold a Constitution Day discussion on the evening of Monday, September 18 from 7:45 - 9 p.m. in Gillis Theater.
The discussion will center around how the U.S. Constitution has evolved and been challenged during wartime. In particular, the conversation will focus on two constitutional issues that often arise during wars: executive power and civil liberties. Though we take the War on Terror as our jumping off point, the event will consider these questions from the founding to the present.
Our guest speakers are noted experts in these subjects.
Chris Edelson, JD Assistant Professor, Department of Government AMERICAN UNIVERSITY Area of Expertise: Executive Power During Wartime
Chris Edelson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Government at American University. His teaching and research interests focus on presidential national security power under the U.S. Constitution. His first book, Emergency Presidential Power: From the Drafting of the Constitution to the War on Terror, was published by the University of Wisconsin Press in fall 2013. His second book, Power Without Constraint: The Post 9/11 Presidency and National Security was published in spring 2016.
Dr. Stewart Winger Associate Professor, Department of History ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY Area of Expertise: Executive Power During Wartime
Stewart Winger is Associate Professor of History at Illinoi State University, where he teaches courses in Civil War and Reconstruction, American Religious History, U.S. Legal and Constitutional History, and U.S. Economic History. He is the editor of Ex Parte Milligan Reconsidered: Race and Civil Liberties from the Lincoln Administration to the War on Terror (University Press of Kansas, 2020). He is also writing a book entitled The Fostering Care of Government: Abraham Lincoln and Internal Improvements.
Thank you to the Jackson-Hope Board for their generous funding of this event and upcoming events through 2027.
Retired federal judge J. Michael Luttig was invited to address the audience at VMI's academic convocation on the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law as part of the launch of VMI's American Constitutional History Initiative.
Luttig, who was appointed to the federal bench by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 and served on the 4thU.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for 15 years, said he was honored beyond words to have the opportunity to address the Corps of Cadets, faculty, and staff on the subject of the Constitution, noting the importance of the upcoming Constitution Day, which honors the day in 1787 that delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the document in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Constitution Day is observed Sept. 17.
Luttig lamented that the United States and its institutions are under vicious attack, not from enemies outside its borders, but from within the country, for the purpose of causing citizens to question laws and democracy. He said there are perils facing the nation, and that many Americans believe the democracy is on the verge of collapse. He called for a Constitutional revival and quoted from a speech given by Abraham Lincoln in 1838 called The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions: “Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in primers, spelling books, and in almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation.”
Luttig stated that America is in desperate need of a reawakening and quickening. “We have strayed and lost perspective. We have become divided. We no longer recognize the virtues of character that we have held dear since our country was founded. Things like honor, integrity, truthfulness, honesty, humility, selflessness, duty, obligation, responsibility, bravery, courage, and country. We can’t agree on what is right or wrong, fact or fiction, truth or falsehood.” He added that no society can long endure polarizing disagreements.
Luttig urged his audience to reject the divisiveness, and avowed, “I refuse to believe this is who we have become. I want to believe that we Americans still believe in these fundamental matters, that we still believe in America.” He continued, “We need to reunite. How can we begin? By talking and listening to each other as human beings and fellow citizens. We must turn to ourselves, we must look to the first seven words of the Constitution, ‘We the People of the United States.’ We must come to the aid of our struggling America and refortify our democracy.”
Learn more about Luttig and the event in a September 2022 news release.
Our Founding Document
Under America’s first national government, the Articles of Confederation, the United States was organized as a loose confederation of states with a weak federal government that could neither impose taxes nor regulate foreign trade and interstate commerce. The Constitution, which replaced the Articles of Confederation in 1787, pulled those states together into a unified nation.
The National Archives, the organization charged with maintaining the records of the federal government, provides a number of online resources concerning our nation’s founding documents. At this website, you can read the Constitution, as well as articles describing its creation, information on the framers, and how the document was prepared for signature by delegates to the Constitutional Convention. The Library of Congress also provides researchers access to 277 documents relating to the work of Congress and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution.
Photograph of the Mural, The Constitution, by Barry Faulkner, 10/27/1936, National Archives and Records Administration
An Interactive Constitution
The National Constitution Center provides a number of online resources as well as resources and exhibits at its location in Philadelphia.
As the Center says on its website, “The National Constitution Center is the first and only institution in America established by Congress to ‘disseminate information about the United States Constitution on a nonpartisan basis in order to increase the awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.’ The Constitution Center brings the United States Constitution to life by hosting interactive exhibits and constitutional conversations and inspires active citizenship by celebrating the American constitutional tradition.”
VMI Course Focuses on the Constitution
Established in fall 2020, History 300, the American Civic Experience, is meant to givecadets a framework for understanding and discussing constitutional issues from the late 18th century to the present day. Efforts to build a new course began approximately three years ago when members of the Board of Visitors asked how cadets learned about the Constitution. The answer was that while cadets taking U.S. history classes learn much about the Constitution, not all cadets take those classes—so there was an excellent opportunity to develop a new course.
“Since VMI develops citizen-soldiers, we believe cadets should be well-grounded in their understanding of the Constitution, much more than a superficial memorization of the document,” said Brig. Gen. Robert “Bob” Moreschi, deputy superintendent for academics and dean of the faculty.
Learn more about the launch of this course in the September 2020 edition of the Institute Report.
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Luttig, who was appointed to the federal bench by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 and served on the 4th
Established in fall 2020, History 300, the American Civic Experience, is meant to give cadets a framework for understanding and discussing constitutional issues from the late 18th century to the present day. Efforts to build a new course began approximately three years ago when members of the Board of Visitors asked how cadets learned about the Constitution. The answer was that while cadets taking U.S. history classes learn much about the Constitution, not all cadets take those classes—so there was an excellent opportunity to develop a new course.