Celebrate U.S. Constitution Day, September 17: Origin of the Constitution
Signing the Constitution
James Madison "The Father of the Constitution"
Government Documents
- The Constitution of the United States : with index and the Declaration of Independence / printed under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing. Uniform title Constitution byCall Number: Y 1.1/7:112-129Publication Date: 2012
- Each day Americans exercise freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and they don't even know it. byCall Number: Y 3.B 47/2:2 Am 3/2Publication Date: 1991
- The Bill of Rights and beyond : securing the blessings of liberty, 1791-1991. byCall Number: Y 3.B 47/2:2 B 49Publication Date: 1991
- The Grand experiment begins : government under the Constitution : Congress and the Presidency, 1789-1989. byCall Number: Y 3.B 47/2:2 Ex 7Publication Date: 1989
- This fierce spirit of liberty : the making of the Bill of Rights. byCall Number: AE 2.102:L 61/2Publication Date: 1989
- The Bill of Rights: a documentary history. byCall Number: Stacks ; KF4744 1971Publication Date: 1971
- Selected bibliography on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights / Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution. byCall Number: Y 3.B 47/2:2 B 47/4Publication Date: 1991
- The Constitution in the year 2000 : choices ahead in constitutional interpretation. byCall Number: J 1.96:C 76/2Publication Date: 1988
- The framing of the Federal Constitution / by Richard B. Morris ; drawings by Leonard Baskin ; photographs, Robert C. Lautman. byCall Number: I 29.9/5:103Publication Date: 1979
- The U.S. Constitution : a national historic landmark theme study / byCall Number: I 29.117:C 76Publication Date: 1986
Origins of the Bill of Rights by Call Number: Government Publications - Stacks ; KF4749 .L488 1999ISBN: 0300078021Publication Date: 1999-07-11A history of the origins of the Bill of Rights. It offers a panoramic view of the liberties secured by the first ten amendments to the Constitution - with an analysis of the background of the Bill of Rights meaning of each provision of the amendments.
The Constitution of the United States of America As Amended by Call Number: Y 1.1/7:108-95ISBN: 9780160514241Publication Date: 2003-10-22House of Representatives Document No. 108-95. Presented by Mr. Ney. June 20, 2003. Printed pursuant to H. Con. Res. 139. Includes a historical note. 108th Congress, 1st Session.
Why Was the Constitutional Convention Called
The year is 1787. The Articles of Confederation are a failure as a design for government. Congress has no ability to raise or collect taxes. The Government cannot pay its debts or the soldiers who had fought in the Revolution. The individual States are fighting amongst themselves with the larger states abusing the smaller ones. Interstate trade and commerce are in chaos. The economy is collapsing and mob violence is becoming an increasing threat. The Government has no power to raise an army to put down rebellions. We need a new form of government. On May 25, 1787, the Constitution Convention is called to design it.
The Articles of the Constitution
Article I Establishes the Legislative Branch — Congress makes the laws
Article II Establishes the Executive Branch — The President enforces the laws
Article III Establishes the Judicial Branch — The Supreme Court interprets the laws
Article IV — Describes the relationship of the States to each other and to the Federal Government (Each state respects the laws of other states — including slave ownership; each state must have a republican form of government; the Federal Government will protect each state from violence)
Article V — The Amendment Process
Article VI — Federal Law has supremacy above States’ laws; Oaths to support the Constitution; no religious test can be required
Article VII — The Process of Ratification
The Constitution and Slavery
Reflections on slavery and the constitution by Call Number: Available onlineISBN: 9786613635785Publication Date: 2012
A Glorious Liberty by Call Number: E449 .D75 R66 2020ISBN: 9781640122352Publication Date: 2020-10-01
Slavery and Sacred Texts by Call Number: E449 .W293 2021ISBN: 9781108478144Publication Date: 2021-07-01
The constitution a pro-slavery compact, or, Selections from the Madison papers, &c. by Call Number: Government Publications - Microforms ; E12 .L68Publication Date: 1845- Class conflict, slavery, and the United States Constitution; ten essays. by Call Number: Library Service Center ; E302.1 .L9Publication Date: 1968
- From the Independent gazetteer, &c. Centinel No. V. To the people of Pennsylvania. Friends, countrymen, and fellow-citizens, Mr. Wilson in a speech delivered in our convention on Saturday the 24th instant, has conceded, nay forceably proved, that one cons by Call Number: , Government Publications - Readex ; AS36 .A47Publication Date: 1787
- Letter to the Hon. Daniel Webster, on the compromises of the Constitution by S. Graham. by Call Number: Government Publications - Microforms ; E12 .L68Publication Date: 1850
Gallery Images
The first Gallery image is "Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States" a painting by Howard Chandler Christy. Christy created the painting in April 1940; it is so large (20 by 30 feet or 6.1 by 9.1 metres) that he painted it in a sail loft. It currently is displayed along the east stairway in the House of Representatives wing in the Capitol building.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scene_at_the_Signing_of_
the_Constitution_of_the_United_States#/media/File:
Scene_at_the_Signing_of_the_Constitution_of_the_
The second Gallery image is "The Constitution" a mural by Barry Faulkner. It can be seen In the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom in the National Archives Building. The mural was painted between 1933 and 1936 and is about the size of a city bus.
Books Available at Fondren
- The Rights retained by the people : the history and meaning of the Ninth Amendment by Call Number: KF4558 9th .R54 1989Publication Date: 1989-1993
- The Historic Background of the Bill of Rights by Call Number: KF4749.A2 B55 1990ISBN: 0824058585Publication Date: 1990-03-01First Published in 1990. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
A Principled Constitution? by Call Number: KF4550 .S623 2022ISBN: 9781666911473Publication Date: 2022-09-02
How Failed Attempts to Amend the Constitution Mobilize Political Change by Call Number: KF4555 .H39 2017ISBN: 9780826521484Publication Date: 2017-08-01
The Bill of Rights Today by Call Number: KF4749 .D38 2008ISBN: 9780761840756Publication Date: 2008-06-10- The Exhaustive concordance to the United States Constitution : with topical index and rapid reference constitution byCall Number: KF4528.5 .E97 1994Publication Date: 1994
Misreading the Bill of Rights by Call Number: KF4749 .G65 2015ISBN: 9781440832338Publication Date: 2015-03-30
The Genius of America by Call Number: KF4541 .L35 2007ISBN: 9781596911994Publication Date: 2007-09-18
The Cambridge Companion to the United States Constitution by Call Number: KF4550 .C36 2018ISBN: 9781107094666Publication Date: 2018-03-22
The Naked Constitution by Call Number: KF4550 .F74 2012ISBN: 9780062094636Publication Date: 2012-10-09
The Cult of the Constitution by Call Number: KF4749 .F685 2019ISBN: 9781503603226Publication Date: 2019-05-14
