On this day, September 17th, in 1787, the Constitution of the United States was signed in Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall), the location of the Constitutional Convention. The fifty-five delegates who met between May 25 and September 17 of that year rejected the weaker Articles of Confederation, and produced a document that established the framework for a new form of republican government.
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
In 2004, Congress passed legislation establishing Constitution Day, a federal holiday commemorating the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787. This year marks the 232nd anniversary of the historic event.
The Law Library will again distribute free pocket-sized copies of the U.S. Constitution, courtesy of the Federal Depository Library Program (while supplies last). They are available at the circulation desk display area. Stop by to pick up one!