Political Science (Callahan Library): U.S. Constitution

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25 Audubon Ave
Patchogue, NY 11772
631-687-2630
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On September 17, 1787, the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia approved and signed the U.S. Constitution. In 2004, the U.S. Congress established September 17 as Constitution Day, to commemorate and celebrate that event. The Callahan Library has assembled this collection of links to help you explore our constitutional history.

National Constitution Center Constitution Day

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 original text of the "Virginia Plan," Edmund Randolph's proposal for a national government that included three co-equal branches: "supreme legislative, judiciary and executive";
• A printed copy of the Constitution with George Washington's handwritten annotations;
• The final printed copy of the Constitution, which was delivered to the Constitutional Convention September 13, 1787, approved by vote on September 15, and then signed on September 17; and
• The state of Pennsylvania's ratification copy of the Constitution -- unlike the four-page version of the Constitution on display at the National Archives in Washington, DC, the entire text is on one enormous sheet of parchment so it could be more easily transported.