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The U.S. Constitution was ratified on Sept. 17, 1787. (Photo/Mr.TinDC via Flickr)
University
Honor Constitution Day 2025 with USC
Congress designates Sept. 17 to acknowledge the significance and heritage of the foundational document.
We the People of the United States, in Order to create a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
— Preamble to the Constitution of the United States
In 2004, Congress enacted legislation establishing Constitution and Citizenship Day, a federal holiday honoring the ratification of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787. This year symbolizes the 238th anniversary of this momentous event.
“Democratic rights are often taken for granted, but any democracy can falter if each new generation does not cherish and uphold the values of free inquiry and mutual respect that sustain it,” USC Interim President Beong-Soo Kim remarked earlier this month while announcing the first in a series of democracy-centered events. “I hope every student takes a moment to recognize the democratic freedoms that prior generations have struggled and sacrificed for.”
Overview of the U.S. Constitution
On Sept. 17, 1787, 39 of the 55 delegates present at the Constitutional Convention endorsed the U.S. Constitution, establishing a new government for the United States of America.
The outcome of extensive deliberation regarding the framework and authority of a new federal government, the U.S. Constitution stands as evidence of collaborative statesmanship and the art of politics. Indeed, in his declaration creating the first national Thanksgiving Day on Thursday, Nov. 26, 1789, George Washington indicated that the holiday should be a time for the people of the United States to express gratitude, among other things, for “the peaceable and rational manner” in which the Constitution was formulated.
Since the Bill of Rights was integrated on Dec. 15, 1791, the U.S. Constitution has been modified only 16 times. Incorporating a complex system of checks and balances among the various branches and tiers of government, and guaranteeing the fundamental individual freedoms that are pivotal to a free and democratic society, this extraordinary document has shown remarkable flexibility to meet the demands of an evolving society. It has also served as an inspiration and a model for nations worldwide.
The National Archives has made available a variety of resources concerning the Constitution through these links:
The Framers of the Constitution
Amendments 1-10: The Bill of Rights
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