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| Watch the ARCHIVED video of the September 17, 2007 Event |
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Constitution Day
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| Watch the archived video of the 2006 event |
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Constitution Day
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| Watch the archived video of the 2005 event |
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Constitution Day
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About Constitution & Citizenship Day
The Court will continue to hold this interactive program each September to commemorate the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787. We invite classroom teachers, home school groups, history clubs and so forth to contact Dr. Elizabeth Osborn at eosborn@courts.state.in.us if you are interested in participating in future programs. For other field trip programs in the Indiana Supreme Court courtroom, please contact Dr. Osborn or visit http://www.in.gov/judiciary/citc/trips.html.
For more information about Constitution Day and links to teacher resources on the Constitution visit the Indiana Department of Education website at http://www.doe.state.in.us/opd/Const_day/welcome.htm.
For K-12 lesson plans for Constitution and Citizenship Day from the Center for Civic Education, visit their website at http://www.civiced.org/byrd/.
The Indiana Secretary of State’s Office will be on hand at the conclusion of the Constitution Day program to allow students over the age of 18 to register to vote. (Students who are attending – please, remember to bring your Driver’s License.)
2006 participating schools included Northwest High School, Hamilton Southeastern High School, South Ripley High School, and the Christian Learning Center and Network (CLCN). Guest speakers included Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard of the Indiana Supreme Court, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Suellen Reed, and the Honorable Paul D. Mathias of the Indiana Court of Appeals.
2005 participating schools included Covenant Christian High School, Hamilton Southeastern High School, Northwest High School, and Temple Christian School. Guest speakers included Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard of the Indiana Supreme Court, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Suellen Reed, and the Honorable Paul D. Mathias of the Indiana Court of Appeals.
The following resources were used during the program and are available for download in Adobe PDF format:
Additional Materials
| Pamphlets Available by Request |
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“Indiana’s Supreme Court In the Civil War: How Can the Constitution Be Unconstitutional?”
This article highlights the role of Indiana’s judiciary during the Civil War.
Pamphlets are free to any interested parties. Send requests to dbaumer@courts.state.in.us |
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“Indiana’s Constitution in a Nation of Constitutions”
This article sets out to provide information about the writing of Indiana’s 1816 Constitution.
Pamphlets are free to any interested parties. Send requests to dbaumer@courts.state.in.us |
Indiana State Constitutional Facts
Did you know that in 1816 the population of Indiana was 63,897? (Statehood required 60,000)
Did you know that the 1816 Constitutional Convention took place during the heat of the summer and that many of the discussions and debates took place beneath the cooling branches of an elm tree outdoors? (Now called the “Constitutional Elm”)
Did you know that the “Constitutional Elm” died in 1925 of Dutch Elm Disease, but its trunk was saved by the State. They built a shelter around the trunk that is open on all sides. You can still visit when you are in Corydon.
Did you know that 34 of the 43 Constitutional Convention delegates who wrote Indiana 's first constitution in 1816 were not born in Indiana but were from states south of the Mason-Dixon line?
Did you know the oldest delegate was Charles Polk from Perry County? He was about 72 (born circa 1744). The youngest was Joseph Holman from Wayne County. He was age 28 (born October 1, 1788).
Did you know that the President of the Constitutional Convention, Jonathan Jennings, went on to be elected Indiana's first Governor? He beat out Thomas Posey, the former Territorial Governor, by a vote of 5,211 to 3,934.
Did you know that there were only 13 counties in Indiana when the Constitutional Convention took place in 1816? Knox County encompassed an area of nearly two-thirds of today's state.
Did you know that even in 1850, when the 2nd Constitutional Convention was held, only 13 of the 150 delegates were native-born Hoosiers?
Did you know that the population of Indiana soared from about 64,000 in 1816 to 988,000 in 1850?
Did you know that it took Hoosiers' voters fifteen times between 1820 and 1847 about calling for a convention to revise the state constitution?
Did you know that the 1816 Constitutional Convention only had 43 delegates while the 1850-51 Convention had 150?
Did you know that only 25% of the delegates to the 1850-51 Constitutional Convention were lawyers, while a full 42% were farmers, thus reflecting Indiana 's strong agricultural heritage?
Did you know that Frederick Rapp, business leader and spokesmen for the Harmonist Society as well as the adopted son of George Rapp of Harmonie (later New Harmony), represented Gibson County as a delegate?
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