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Happy Constitution Day!

The signing of the Constitution in 1787
The signing of the Constitution in 1787
Allison Steinberg,
Communications Strategist,
ACLU
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September 16, 2015

***Correction appended below.***

Happy Constitution Day!

This lesser known holiday is just about as exciting to the ACLU as our birthday or New Year’s Eve, as it’s the day we get to highlight what we’re most passionate about and what we fight to defend on your behalf each and every day – the Constitution.

The Constitution is the very foundation of our nation. It’s the document that secures the freedoms we enjoy every day, including our right to free speech, expression, and religion, from government meddling. It sets the criteria for the balance of powers in our government and the underpinnings of our democracy.

Constitution Day is an American federal observance that recognizes the adoption of the United Sates Constitution. It is observed on September 17, the day the U.S. Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution in 1787.

To celebrate this special day this year, we enlisted the help of our very special ACLU Ambassadors. These celebrities love the Constitution so much, they talk about it all the time.

Check out the below video of our ambassadors’ mashup of the Preamble of the Constitution and learn more about the ACLU Ambassador Project.

woman playing guitar with the words promote the general welfare
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Read the full Constitution and know your rights.

Text of the Preamble to the Constitution

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure 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.

Make sure no one leaves home without their rights, pick up one of our Pocket Constitutions.

CORRECTION: The original piece included an editing comment that didn’t reflect the author’s opinion and has been removed.

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