A Debate About Religious Liberty in America

Run time: 1 hour, 3 minutes

Marci Hamilton and Michael McConnell join host Jeffrey Rosen for a special Constitution Day discussion about how America’s founders viewed religious liberty and what it means today. Listen now

We the People and Live at the National Constitution Center are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more 

Five Lessons We Can Learn From George Washington’s Farewell Address

by Scott Bomboy | Read time: 5 minutes

“On September 19, 1796, a Philadelphia newspaper published one of the greatest documents in American history: George Washington’s Farewell Address. ...” Read more

September 17, 1787: The Constitution Was Signed in Philadelphia

by Scott Bomboy | Read time: 3 minutes

“On September 17, 1787, a group of men gathered in a closed meeting room to sign the greatest vision of human freedom in history, the U.S. Constitution. ...” Read more

Judge J. Michael Luttig and Elizabeth A. Luttig Loan Rare Copy of the Federalist Papers to the National Constitution Center

Judge J. Michael Luttig and Mrs. Elizabeth A. Luttig have acquired and will loan to the National Constitution Center in perpetuity a first-edition, two-volume set of The Federalist, widely considered to be the most important commentary on the Constitution of the United States and America’s most significant contribution to political theory.

Judge and Mrs. Luttig have also acquired and will loan to the National Constitution Center a rare original printing of the Acts of the First Session of the First Congress, for display with The Federalist in a new gallery. The gallery, focused on America’s founding principles, is scheduled to open in 2026 in conjunction with the country’s 250th anniversary. Learn more

The Preamble

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, 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.”

Read interpretations in the Interactive Constitution

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