December 15 is Bill of Rights Day, which commemorates the ratification of the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Today’s post comes from Bailey Martin from the National Archives History Office. December 15, Bill of Rights Day, is an important day for the National Archives because it is the one day of the year … Continue reading Bill of Rights Day: The People’s Vote
December 15 is Bill of Rights Day, which commemorates the ratification of the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. For more information on events and resources at the National Archives, visit our Bill of Rights Day website. While the National Archives has well documented its many celebrations for Constitution Day and July 4th, we haven’t paid … Continue reading Bill of Rights Day: Celebrating Our Most Precious Freedoms
Today’s post comes from Christine Blackerby, archives specialist in the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives in Washington, DC. She is also co-curator of the exhibit “Amending America.” More than 11,000 constitutional amendments have been introduced in Congress since the Constitution was written in 1787. What most of these proposals have in common, … Continue reading Last chance to see Amending America
Since the National Archives was established more than 80 years ago, millions of people from the United States and abroad have visited our historic building in Washington, DC. Ten of those visitors were sitting U.S. Presidents. In 1933, before there was a building, President Herbert Hoover became the first President to visit when he laid … Continue reading From 1600 to 700 Pennsylvania Avenue: Presidential Visits to the National Archives
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), is the landmark the Supreme Court decision that requires states to provide defense attorneys for criminal defendants who can’t afford them. The case centers on Clarence Earl Gideon, a poor drifter with an eighth-grade education. Gideon was arrested in 1961 for allegedly breaking into pool hall and stealing money and alcohol. … Continue reading Featured Document: A Right to a Fair Trial
December 15 is Bill of Rights Day which commemorates the ratification of the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. As we celebrate the 225th anniversary of the Bill of Rights on December 15—Bill of Rights Day—let’s take a look back at the origins and history of that day. On December 15, 1791, the first 10 amendments … Continue reading Bill of Rights Day
Today’s post comes from Sanjana Barr of the National Archives History Office. Even though the National Archives Rotunda was completed in the mid-1930s as a shrine for the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, the documents were not transferred to the National Archives until 1952. The National Archives History Office has produced a new online exhibit … Continue reading New Online Exhibit: “Carting the Charters”
This post is from Jessie Kratz, Historian of the National Archives. It's from the Winter 2016 issue of Prologue magazine. The travels of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution have been chronicled frequently over the years—in fact, they are fascinating stories. However, the third “Charter of Freedom”—the Bill of Rights—has been largely overlooked. As we … Continue reading Historian’s Notebook: The Bill of Rights at 225
This post comes from Mary Ryan, managing editor of Prologue magazine and was originally published in the Winter 2016 issue of Prologue. On December 15 we observe the 225th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights. One-by-one, from 1789 to 1791, the states ratified 10 amendments to the nation’s new Constitution. The process had begun … Continue reading Ratifying the Bill of Rights . . . in 1939
On June 8, 1789, less than one year after the U.S. Constitution was ratified, Representative James Madison of Virginia proposed several amendments to the document. The amendments were to be interwoven into the text and were, for the most part, selectively taken from the amendments proposed by the states. They also mostly related to protecting civil … Continue reading The Bill of Rights Goes to the States
