Stop by Kemp Library during Constitution Week (Sept 17-23) to pick up a free pocket Constitution! Click this link or the image below for the online PDF version.
When: September 17-23, 2024 (Constitution Week)
Where: Kemp Library Lobby
Commemorate Constitution Day at ESU's Kemp Library. Pick up a free pocket U.S. Constitution any time this week at the library (while supplies last). Come to the Kemp Library table in the lobby on the main floor to get your copy of the U.S. Constitution and pick up Kemp Library pens, bookmarks, and book-themed stickers! Co-sponsored by Kemp Library and ESU's chapter of the American Democracy Project.
National Constitution Day Conversations
Sep 17, 2024, 1:00 - 2:30 PM
Online - Register here
Join the American Democracy Project in a national facilitated dialogue based on the fundamental value of the pursuit of knowledge for the public good. Bring your classes and student groups for this engaging dialogue on the U.S. Constitution.
Designed to reach across differences, the National Constitution Day Conversation creates a space for open discussion of the U.S. Constitution. This national facilitated dialogue is based on the fundamental value of the pursuit of knowledge for the public good.
The session will consist of a lively game, facilitated discussion, and a forum to share thoughts about the U.S. Constitution. We encourage AASCU institutions to share this opportunity on their campuses, as one way to meet the federal requirement to provide educational opportunities about Constitution Day.
The event is open to all higher education students, faculty, and staff. Bring your classes and student organizations, and join us for this national dialogue on Tuesday, September 17 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET.
Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at 11:15 AM
Online - Register here
Watch as the Honorable Neil M. Gorsuch, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and NCC honorary co-chair, and his co-author and former law clerk Janie Nitze, join National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen for a discussion of their new book, which focuses on the stories of ordinary Americans—from fishermen in Florida to families in Montana, to a young internet entrepreneur in Massachusetts and more—who have had to navigate the complexities of the nation’s legal system. Justice Gorsuch will also share with students interesting details from his career, the important role played by the judiciary, and what it’s like to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.
Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at 1:00 PM
Online - Register here
Join National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen and Khan Academy founder Sal Khan for the launch of our Constitution 101 student course developed in partnership with the Khan Academy. This student-mastery course is designed to empower students with a deeper understanding of the Constitution and its impact on their lives. Moderated by Ohio high school educator Amy Elsass, this special Constitution Day event will feature questions from students from around the country and will explore the importance of civil dialogue and how to think like a constitutional scholar, as well as address timely constitutional questions related to student free speech, AI, and elections.
Constitution Day 2024: The Taft Supreme Court
Wednesday, September 11th, 2024, at 3 p.m. EDT
Online - Watch on YouTube
Professor Post and Dean Treanor will discuss Professor Post’s book, The Taft Court: Making Law for a Divided Nation, 1921–1930. Professor Post’s book is part of the Holmes Devise series of books that are funded by a gift from the late Associate Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. The Holmes Devise series describes the history of the United States Supreme Court.
Learn more on the Law Library of Congress blog post.
September 17, 2024 is Constitution Day! Commemorate it by reading the U.S. Constitution.
Signed on this day in 1787, the Constitution defines the framework of the Federal Government of the United States.
Constitution of the United States, National Archives
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, 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 United States Constitution
View the Constitution in the National Archives Catalog.
Read the transcript on the National Archives' America's Founding Documents website.
A More Perfect Union: The Creation of the U.S. Constitution, a history from the National Archives.
The Writing and Ratification of the U.S. Constitution: Practical Virtue in Action.
Vile, John R. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2012.
The Annotated U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
Rakove, Jack N. Harvard University Press, 2009.
American Epic : Reading the U.S. Constitution
Epps, Garrett. Oxford University Press, 2013.
Women and the U.S. Constitution : History, Interpretation, and Practice.
Schwarzenbach, Sibyl A. and Patricia Smith. Columbia University Press, 2003.
Dirck, Brian R. Southern Illinois University Press, 2012.
The Presidents and the Constitution : A Living History.
Gormley, Ken. NYU Press, 2016.
Search for additional e-books in EBSCO's eBook Academic Collection.
Cartoon Bank: a searchable website for cartoons published in The New Yorker.
Cartoon Prints, American: Library of Congress digital collection featuring over 500 prints of political art from the 18th and 19th centuries.
American Political Prints, 1766-1876: HarpWeek features political prints published in Harper's Weekly. You can browse by topic including,
HarpWeek's Cartoon of the Day: There are six cartoons featured under the "U.S. Constitution" topic.
The Bill of Rights is the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution. It spells out Americans’ rights in relation to their government. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual—like freedom of speech, press, and religion.
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution passed by Congress September 25, 1789 and was ratified on December 15, 1791.
"One of the ten amendments of the Bill of Rights, the First Amendment gives everyone residing in the United States the right to hear all sides of every issue and to make their own judgments about those issues without government interference or limitations. The First Amendment allows individuals to speak, publish, read and view what they wish, worship (or not worship) as they wish, associate with whomever they choose, and gather together to ask the government to make changes in the law or to correct the wrongs in society."
- First Amendment and Censorship, American Library Association.
Resources:
Clauses of the First Amendment
The National Constitution Center. “The National Constitution Center is the first and only institution in America established by Congress to ‘disseminate information about the United States Constitution on a non-partisan basis in order to increase the awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.”
First Amendment - Religion and Expression
FindLaw. “FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business, providers consumers and lawyers with a range of case law, statutes, legal news, online career center, blogs and a variety of community-oriented tools."
The Bill of Rights. America's Founding Documents from the National Archives. Learn more about the Bill of Rights: What does it say? How did it happen? How was it made? and more!
Stop by Kemp Library to see the U.S. Constitution & Free Speech book display.
Books currently on display are available for check out! Ask for the book at the Circulation Desk.
Speech rights in America : the First Amendment, democracy, and the media.
Stein, Laura Lynn. University of Illinois Press, 2008.
Call number: On Display 302.23 St34s
A distant heritage : the growth of free speech in early America.
Eldridge, Larry D. New York University Press, 1994.
Call number: On Display 342.730853 EL24d
Also available online as an e-book.
We the students : Supreme Court cases for and about students.
Raskin, Jamin R. CQ Press, 2008.
Call Number: On Display 344.73079 R183w3
Censorship, Inc. : the corporate threat to free speech in the United States.
Soley, Lawrence C. Monthly Review Press, 2002.
Call number: On Display 323.443 So43c
Come to Kemp Library to see additional materials on display!
Freedom of Speech : The History of an Idea.
Powers, Elizabeth. Bucknell University Press, 2011.
The Soul of the First Amendment : Why Freedom of Speech Matters.
Abrams, Floyd. Yale University Press, 2017.
African Americans and the First Amendment : The Case for Liberty and Equality.
Shiell, Timothy C. SUNY Press, 2019.
An Indispensable Liberty : The Fight for Free Speech in Nineteenth-Century America.
Cronin, Mary M. Southern Illinois University Press, 2016.
Unlearning Liberty : Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate.
Lukianoff, Greg. Encounter Books, 2014.
Free Speech and Human Dignity.
Heyman, Steven J. Yale University Press, 2008.
Search for additional e-books in EBSCO's eBook Academic Collection.
A look at the First Amendment: freedom of speech and religion.
Conway, John Richard. MyReportLinks.com Books, 2009.
Call number: Children's Collection 342.73 Con
Book currently on display! Ask at the Circulation Desk.
In defense of liberty: the story of America's Bill of Rights
Freedman, Russell. Holiday House, 2003.
Call number: Children's Collection 342.73 Fre
Book currently on display! Ask at the Circulation Desk.
A look at the Bill of Rights: protecting the rights of Americans.
Graham, Amy. Enslow Publishers, 2008
Call number: Children's Collection 342.73 Gra
Stop by Kemp Library this week (Sept 17-23, 2024) to pick up a free pocket U.S. Constitution (while supplies last). You can also click on the image above for the PDF version.
View the previous virtual exhibits on the 19th Amendment and Voting Rights. See the Previous Constitution Day Exhibits page.