Selected Government Documents on the Making of the U.S. Constitution

Congress has designated September 17 as Constitution Day. Schools of all levels will observe the historical significance of the United States Constitution with a variety of educational programs. Selected documents are on exhibit in the Shields Library lobby.

When delegates to the Constitutional Convention convened for the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation in May 1787, they elected George Washington president of the convention. The 55 delegates who attended at least some of the sessions spent the entire summer of 1787 drafting the language of the Constitution. The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787 in the State House in Philadelphia.

The original constitution can be viewed in the Rotunda in the Charters of Freedom in the National Archives.

Selected Print Documents in the UC Davis Shields Library

The American Solution; Origins of the United States Constitution

Robert A. Rutland, Library of Congress, 1987

Shields Library KF4541 .R79 1987

Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution - Elliot's Debates

Online in the Making of America Collection from the University of Michigan.

Documents Illustrative of the Formation of the Union of the American States

Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office, 1927

Shields Gov Info and Maps Reference JK11 1927 .U5

Documents of American History

Edited by Henry Steele Commager

Shields Library E173 .C58. Various editions.

Framers of the Constitution

Washington, D.C., National Archives and Records Administration, 1986

Shields Library E302.5 .F73 1986

The Framing of the Federal Constitution

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Washington, DC, 1986

Shields Library KF4520 .M67

Government By Choice; Inventing the United States Constitution

By Elizabeth P. McCaughey Preface by Warren E. Burger, Chief Justice of the United States, Retired New York Historical Society, 1987

Shields Library KF4520 .M39 1987

Journal of the Federal Convention

1893

Shields Library JK141 1893

Journals of the Continental Congress: the Debates and Proceedings in the Congress

Shields Gov Info and Maps Reference. J11 .A5

Letters of Delegates to Congress 1774-1789

Library of Congress. 1976-2000

Shields Library JK1033 .L471

Papers of the Continental Congress

Shields Gov Info and Maps Reference J10 .A5

The records of the Federal convention of 1787

Edited by Max Farrand

Shields Library JK141 1911

Religion and the Founding of the American Republic

James H. Hutson. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 1998

Shields Gov Info and Maps Gov Info Stacks DOC LC 1.2:R 27

Signers of the Constitution; Historic Places Commemorating the Signing of the Constitution

United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1976

Shields Library E159 .N35 v.19

The World of Franklin and Jefferson

An exhibition designed by the Office of Charles and Ray Eames for the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. 1975

Shields Gov Info and Maps Gov Info Stacks DOC Y 3.AM 3/6:2 F 72x

1797-1991 The Bill of Rights and Beyond

Commission on the Bicentennial of the Constitution. 1991

Selected Web Sites About the Constitution

Making of America - University of Michigan Digital collection

Includes:

• Elliot's Debates
• And Debates from the states that held Constitutional Conventions following the convention in Philadelphia
• Books and pamphlets from the time period

A Century of Law Making for a New Nation; U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates - from the Library Of Congress

Documents Included:

• Making of the Constitution
• Farrand's Records 1787
• Elliot's Debates 1787-1788
• Letters of Delegates to Congress 1774-1789
• Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1789

U.S. National Archives and Record Service - America's Historical Documents

The original constitution is on display in the rotunda of the National Archives in Washington in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom and can be explored online at the NARA site. (http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/visit/rotunda.html)

NARA Includes:

• Constitution image files
• Bill of Rights and other Constitutional Amendments
• More on the Constitutional Convention and the ratification process
• Questions and Answers About the Constitution
• The Founding Fathers - information about the Delegates to the Constitutional Convention

National Constitution Center - Interactive guide to the Constitution

The Founders' Constitution

An online compilation of the readings and foundations for the constitution's writers.

Analysis and Interpretation of the U.S. Constitution: 1992 Edition Plus Supplements - current edition on GPO Access

Ben's Guide to U.S. Government Information on GPO Access - Constitution for grades 9-12