The Constitution turns 225 on September 17, and the National Archives is ready to celebrate our founding document! Don't miss your chance to see the "fifth page" of the Constitution, on display for the first time. It will be in the Rotunda for public viewing only from September 14 to 17. From now until September … Continue reading Constitution 225: Celebrating our founding document
Today’s post was written by National Archives volunteer Paul Richter. It is part of a series tracing the development of the Constitution in honor of the 225th anniversary of this document on September 17, 2012. By the end of August, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were tired. They had been convening and debating for … Continue reading Constitution 225: Blueprint for the Electoral College
Today’s post was written by National Archives volunteer Paul Richter. It is part of a series tracing the development of the Constitution in honor of the 225th anniversary of this document on September 17, 2012. Have you ever dreamed of being addressed as King or Queen or Prince or Princess or Viscount or Duchess or … Continue reading Constitution 225: No crown for you!
Today’s post was written by National Archives volunteer Paul Richter. It is part of a series tracing the development of the Constitution. Don't miss our special programs, events, and social media outreach this September in honor of the 225th anniversary of the Constitution. By July 23, 1787, the Constitutional Convention had been meeting for … Continue reading Constitution 225: The Committee of Detail
Today’s post was written by National Archives volunteer Paul Richter. It is part of a series tracing the development of the Constitution in honor of the 225th anniversary of this document on September 17, 2012. The President of the United States is one of the most famous positions in the world. But the first … Continue reading Constitution 225: The President
Today's post was written by National Archives volunteer Paul Richter. It is the first in a series tracing the development of the Constitution in honor of the 225th anniversary of this document. Eleven years after the Declaration of Independence announced the birth of the United States, the survival of the young country seemed in doubt. … Continue reading Constitution 225: No quorum, no Constitution!
Although the National Archives Building was nearly completed in 1935, the Rotunda sat empty. Then, on December 13, 1952, an armored Marine Corps personnel carrier made its way down Constitution Avenue, accompanied by two light tanks, four servicemen carrying submachine guns, and a motorcycle escort. A color guard, ceremonial troops, the Army Band, and the Air Force Drum … Continue reading A homecoming for six pages of parchment
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. Here, in short, are the documents that made Thanksgiving. On October 3, 1789, President George Washington issued a proclamation naming Thursday, November 26, 1789, as an official holiday of "sincere and humble thanks." The nation then celebrated its first Thanksgiving … Continue reading Thanksgiving, as American as apple pie
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. All summer long, a group of men huddled in a stifling hot room in Philadelphia (Madison almost passed out from the heat) to develop the framework for a government that would govern the newly independent states of America. There was … Continue reading What Franklin thought of the Constitution
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/sFAVKJAOWSc?fs=1&hl=en_US Just in time for Constitution Day on September 17, acting Chief of Reference at the National Archives Trevor Plante literally takes viewers inside the National Archives vaults to see some of his favorite rarely-displayed documents including the following: The … Continue reading The documents that built the Constitution
