Celebrating Constitution Day with the Newly Published Constitution Annotated Research Guide
It is that time of year again when teachers are heading back into the classroom, thinking about curriculum, and preparing their new lesson plans. Not long after public schools open each year, teachers plan programming for Constitution Day. The day commemorates the signing of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787 and schools receiving federal funding must annually “hold an educational program on the United States Constitution on September 17.” Washington State law also provides that the study of constitutions is a prerequisite to graduation from a public or private high school.
For Constitution Day 2023 students and constitutional law researchers have a new tool at their disposal. In June the Library of Congress (LOC) announced that their Congressional Research Service (CRS) developed a new research guide to the Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation, popularly known as the Constitution Annotated.
In 2019 we blogged about the newly released online Constitution Annotated. Prior to this LOC version, the Constitution Annotated had been available online through the Government Printing Office as a PDF of the print version. First ordered to be printed by Congress in 1913, the Constitution Annotated has served through the years as an official and authoritative analysis of the Constitution, providing “a legal analysis and interpretation of the United States Constitution based on a comprehensive review of Supreme Court case law and, where relevant, historical practices that have defined the text of the Constitution.”
The newly developed Constitution Annotated research guide is “dedicated to helping the general reader navigate and understand the Constitution Annotated, whether they are congressional staffers, seasoned attorneys, university students, or anyone interested in the Constitution and how it relates to current issues.” The guide provides instructions for each of the website’s features on its “How to Use the Constitution Annotated Website” page serving as a how-to on searching, browsing, and using the annotated essays.
In addition to basic instruction, the guide includes several other features. The Guide to Constitution Annotated Essays link provides a starting point for accessing the annotated essays in the Constitution Annotated by subject matter or constitution article or amendment. The Resources for Constitution Annotated Research link offers access to the tables that are included in the Constitution Annotated. These tables include Supreme Court decisions that have been overruled by subsequent decisions, laws held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, and others. The guide also provides additional resources for constitutional research from the LOC collections and outside resources, as well as links to related LOC research guides.
The most recent bound edition of the Constitution Annotated was published in 2022 and is available in PDF format here. The interactive online version is updated regularly and also includes a Table of Additional Resources that links to additional Congressional Research Service publications on constitutional issues.
Constitution Day Information and Resources
Constitution Day is formally known as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. The purpose of the day is to “commemorate the formation and signing on September 17, 1787, of the Constitution and recognize all who, by coming of age or by naturalization, have become citizens.” Congress established Constitution Day in 2004. September 17 had previously been designated solely as Citizenship Day with a similar purpose.
There are a number of Constitution Day events going on around the Internet and many online teaching resources are available too. Here is a selection:
National Archives Constitution Day 2023 webinars (see website for dates and times, September 13–25)
National Constitution Center’s Countdown to Constitution Day #SSChat, watch on Twitter at @constitutionctr, Monday, September 4, 4 p.m. PT
Law Library of Congress’ Actual Malice: Civil Rights and Freedom of the Press in New York Times v. Sullivan event, September 14th, 2023, noon PDT
Bipartisan Policy Center’s Constitution Day panel of student leaders, Challenging Cancel Culture: Can Gen Z Change Course?, September 14, 2023, 6:00 am PDT
American Bar Association’s Constitution Day 2023 Message and Resources
Spotlight on Civic Learning in Washington’s Constitutional Connections
National Constitution Center’s Constitution Day Resources
Civics Renewal Network’s Constitution Day Toolkit
DocsTeach’s Bring the Constitution to Life!
Constitutional Sources Project (ConSource)
Annenberg Classroom’s Teaching the Constitution (SC)
