“General George Washington resigns his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Army to the Congress, on Dec. 23, 1783. This action was of great significance in establishing of civilian rather than military rule, leading to democracy rather than a dictatorship or monarchy. This painting hangs in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. JOYE~(CC BY 2.0)

Constitution Day

We celebrate Constitution Day and Citizenship Day on September 17 each year to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787. Our founders rejected a monarchy and created a new government, one in which no person was above the rule of law.

“Royal Crown”

The U.S. Constitution describes the system the founders created to ensure that there were checks and balances on the three co-equal branches of government — the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary.

As part of engaging with and educating Washingtonians of all ages about the judicial branch and its role in our democracy, we offer a number of programs and resources for promoting civic learning in our great state all year long. Visit the Court’s Civic Learning Page to see all the resources.

This blog spotlights and links to lesson plans which judges will deliver in classrooms. This piece is a supplement to the outline for talks to large groups about Constitution Day.

For more information about Constitution Day, and for links to resources for learning and teaching about it, see the resources offered by the staff at the Washington State Law Library.