Research Guides: Constitution Day: Resources

Library Resources

Films on Demand:

US Government LibGuide
World Constitutions Illustrated
Includes the current constitution of every country in the world in its original language and at least one English translation.

CQ Press This link opens in a new window
The CQ Press database combines many of CQ's most well-known government and political titles into a single searchable database. It includes such titles as the Political Handbook of the world, Elections A to Z, the Federal Regulatory Directory and the Washington Information Directory and covers such topics as International Affairs, Congress, Law and the Courts, Elections and Political Behavior, the Presidency and Politics and History.
Subjects:
American Government and Politics
Comparative Politics
History (General)
International Relations (General)
Middle East Politics
Political History
Politics & International Relations (General)
Politics (General)
Public Policy & Public Administration
Sociology (General)

Abbreviation: cqpr
Vendor: Sage Publishing
Coverage: 1998–Current
Subjects: Business, Earth Science, Geography, History, International Affairs, Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Management & Strategy, Political Science, Public Administration and Policy, Sociology
Type: Directories, E-Book Collections
Oxford Constitutions of the World (OCW) This link opens in a new window
Oxford Constitutions of the World (OCW) contains constitutions for every jurisdiction across the world—national, sub-national, and state constitutions, as well as the constitution of those of special sovereignties and recognized autonomous regions. The contents are translated into English.
Subjects include:
Current Constitutions
Constitutional Amendments
Constitutional Foundation Documents
Constitutionally Related Documents
Commentary and Analysis

Abbreviation: ocw
Vendor: Oxford University Press
Subjects: Law
Type: Government Publications, Historical / Primary Sources
Constitute This link opens in a new window
Constitute offers access to the world's constitutions so that users can systematically compare them across a broad set of topics. Constitute includes the currently-in-force constitution for nearly every independent state in the world, as well as some draft and historical texts.
Abbreviation: consp
Vendor: Comparative Constitutions Project
Coverage: Current
Subjects: International Affairs, Political Science
Type: Government Publications, Historical / Primary Sources

Historical Documents

Meet the Framers of the Constitution
The original states, except Rhode Island, collectively appointed 70 individuals to the Constitutional Convention. A number of these individuals did not accept or could not attend, including Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock. In all, 55 delegates attended the Constitutional Convention sessions, but only 39 actually signed the Constitution. The delegates ranged in age from Jonathan Dayton aged 26, to Benjamin Franklin aged 81, who was so infirm that he had to be carried to sessions in a sedan chair.
Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention
Browse through documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789, from the American Memory collection at the Library of Congress
Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution
Commonly known as Elliot's Debates, this five-volume set is described by the Library of Congress as the "best source for materials about the national government's transitional period between the closing of the Constitutional Convention in September 1787 and the opening of the First Federal Congress in March 1789." Once again, the above link takes you to the Liberty Fund's online copies.
The Federalist Papers
The Federalist Papers is a series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison between October 1787 and May 1788. The essays were published anonymously under the pen name "Publius" in various New York state newspapers of the time. The Federalist Papers were written and published to urge New Yorkers to ratify the proposed United States Constitution, which was drafted in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787. In lobbying for adoption of the Constitution over the existing Articles of Confederation, the essays explain particular provisions of the Constitution in detail. For this reason, and because Hamilton and Madison were each members of the Constitutional Convention, the Federalist Papers are often used today to help interpret the intentions of those drafting the Constitution.