This Month's Featured Story

This month marks the anniversary of the U.S. Constitution. The document, which serves as the supreme law of the United States, was signed in 1787 by delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, presided over by George Washington. It established the federal government with three branches–executive, legislative and judicial–along with a system of checks and balances to ensure no single branch would have too much power. 

Learn More

• Centuries of Citizenship (National Constitution Center)
  
• Charters of Freedom (National Archives)
  
• Interactive Constitution (National Constitution Center)
• Name That Founding Father (Colonial Williamsburg)
  
• The Constitutional Convention (Teaching American History)
• The Federalist Papers (Library of Congress)
• US Constitution (BrainPop)
• US Constitution (History Channel)
• Which Founder Are You? (National Constitution Center)

Related Resources

As the debate over the Constitution grew, Celebrated statesmen Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay weighed in with a series of essays under the pseudonym “Publius,” arguing that the proposed system would preserve the Union and empower the federal government to act firmly and coherently in the national interest.

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A More Perfect Discussion

How has the debate over state and national powers continued into the modern era?

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