Constitution and Citizenship Day Speech Resources: Fact Sheet (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Sept. 10, 2024 |
| Report Number |
R48174 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Susan G. Groux |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
This Fact Sheet provides historical background, facts, and educational resources for Constitution
and Citizenship Day. On September 17, 1787, 39 delegates signed the United States Constitution in Philadelphia, PA.
It went into effect on June 21, 1788. Commemorations of the Constitution’s signing date back to
1861 when residents of Philadelphia, PA, used the anniversary to publicly affirm their allegiance
to the Union against the backdrop of the Civil War.
In 1887, President Grover Cleveland added
presidential recognition to the commemoration by attending the city of Philadelphia’s centennial
celebration of the Constitution’s signing, referring to the “glorious promise of the Constitution
through centuries to come” and remarking that “every American citizen should on this centennial
day rejoice in his citizenship.”
A late 1930’s campaign to honor new citizens of the United States advocated by William
Randolph Hearst led to cities across the country holding public celebrations of U.S. citizenship.
In Los Angeles, CA, this celebration took the form of an event to advocate for a federal law
establishing “I Am An American Day.”
On May 3, 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt signed a joint resolution making the third Sunday
in May “I Am An American Citizenship Day.”
In his accompanying proclamation, President
Roosevelt described the purpose of the day to be so “the sovereign citizens of our Nation be
prepared for the responsibilities and impressed with the significance of their status in our selfgoverning Republic.”
In 1952, Congress passed P.L. 82-261, which moved the I Am An American Citizenship Day
observance date from May 3 to September 17 to coincide with the anniversary of the
Constitution’s signing and changed the name of the observance to Citizenship Day
In 1956, Congress passed P.L. 84-915, which expanded the original observance from a single date
recognizing the anniversary of the Constitution’s signing to a time span running from September
17-25, designating this new time period as Constitution Week.
