Celebrate Constitution Day

Have you read the constitution lately? Constitution Day is celebrated on September 17th each year to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787. Check out the Department of Education’s (CDE) Constitution Day Resource Guide  to find more information on the U.S. Constitution and civic education.

The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office publishes a booklet containing the Colorado and U.S. Constitutions, which they update whenever changes are made. The constitutions are also printed each year as part of the Colorado Revised Statutes.

Constitution Day can be a great time to learn about the state constitution too.

We, the people of Colorado, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, in order to form a more independent and perfect government; establish justice; insure 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 “State of Colorado”.

–Preamble, Constitution of the State of Colorado, 1876

Did you know that Colorado’s constitution was originally created in three languages – English, German and Spanish – and has been amended over 150 times since 1876?

We have a printing of the original 1876 Colorado Constitution as it was presented to voters in our digital repository. A copy of the original handwritten Constitution is on the State Archives website along with a brief history. To learn more about the intent behind the constitution, delve into the Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention of 1875. The proceedings are a journal of the debates and discussions that took place as the constitution was crafted.

For even more information, check out the History Colorado Blog “11 things you didn’t know about Colorado’s path to statehood” or watch “Colorado Experience: Colorado Constitution“, a brief documentary on the state constitution and how it has evolved over time. The documentary was a joint project developed by History Colorado and Rocky Mountain PBS in 2013.