Coppin State University
Constitution Day
What is Constitution Day and Why Should it Matter to You
Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is observed each year on September 17 to commemorate the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787, and “recognize all who, by coming of age or by naturalization, have become citizens.”
This commemoration had its origin in 1940, when Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing and requesting the President to issue annually a proclamation setting aside the third Sunday in May for the public recognition of all who had attained the status of American citizenship. The designation for this day was “I Am An American Day.”
In 1952 Congress repealed this joint resolution and passed a new law moving the date to September 17 to commemorate “the formation and signing, on September 17, 1787, of the Constitution of the United States.” The day was still designated as “Citizenship Day” and retained its original purpose of recognizing all those who had attained American citizenship. This law urged civil and educational authorities of states, counties, cities and towns to make plans for the proper observance of the day and “for the complete instruction of citizens in their responsibilities and opportunities as citizens of the United States and of the State and locality in which they reside.”
In 2004 under Senator Byrd's urging, Congress changed the designation of this day to "Constitution Day and Citizenship Day" and added two new requirements in the commemoration of this Day. The first is that the head of every federal agency provide each employee with educational and training materials concerning the Constitution on September 17th. The second is that each educational institution which receives Federal funds should hold a program for students every September 17th.
African Americans & the United States Constitution
The determination of African Americans (enslaved, free, and freed) to obtain full citizenship and the civil rights and liberties promised in the United States Constitution has posed significant challenges to America’s claim of being a country dedicated to freedom. Inasmuch, the Constitution, from draft in 1887 to present, has been a vehicle through which citizens have relied on to bring about freedom and liberty for all. Unfortunately, the reality is that the original Constitution was in fact an exclusionary document. Through constitutional amendments it has become a document that represents the ideals of freedom and democracy.
African Americans’ realities of enslavement and racial discrimination in the United States are manifested in the Constitution. This is most evident in Article I Sections 2 and 9; Article 9 Section 4, and the Civil War Amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th) of the Constitution. Though no longer relevant, Article I Sections 2 and 9 and Article 9 Section 4 respectively spoke to concerns regarding the taxation of slaves as chattel property, the cessation of the international slave trade, and the return of runaway slaves. Indeed, the same institution of slavery and the property rights of slaveholders that the Constitution protected under Article 9 Section 4 and the 5th Amendment, ended with the ratification of the 13th Amendment which in part states "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction” (Source: U.S. Constitution). The 13th Amendment ended the question of slavery.
Moreover, the nearly four million people freed by the 13th Amendment received constitutional support for claims to citizenship and due process of the law with the adoption of the 14th Amendment, and voting rights with the passage of both the 15th and 19th Amendments. Today these four amendments in addition to the other 23 amendments to the Constitution provide Americans with civil rights and civil liberty protections. Americans of all backgrounds have cited and are still citing these amendments as supporting evidence to protect their rights as citizens of the United States.
Please read your Constitution and know your rights.
Dr. Roger Davidson and Dr. Claudia D. Nelson (Contributors)
Learn More
- Special Days in Action: Constitution Day (American Association of State Colleges and Universities)
- U.S. Founding Documents (Congress.gov)
- Constitution Facts (Constitutionfacts.com)
- Constitution Day and Citizens Day (Library of Congress)
- National Constitution Center (Constitutioncenter.org)
- Constitution Annotated (The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation) (Congress.gov)
- Teaching With Documents: Observing Constitution Day (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
- Teaching With Documents: U.S. Constitution Workshop (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
- https://usconstitution.net/const.html
- https://fairfight.com/
- https://lincolnproject.us/
The State Board of Elections
Learn about the guidelines for voter registration in Maryland with information from the State Board of Elections.
As of 2004 federal regulations require institutions that receive federal funding to provide a program for students every September 17th about the Constitution. Coppin State University is an institution that receives federal funding and therefore presents this programming in compliance with the legislation.