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Celebrating Constitution Day 2014 in Washington, D.C.

On Sept. 17, 2014, 47 students and their teachers gathered in Washington, D.C. as part of a coast-to-coast celebration to commemorate Constitution Day. This year, the 227th anniversary of the writing of America’s founding document, was marked by 29 naturalization ceremonies from Maine to Alaska organized by the U.S. Courts; by a “Preamble Challenge” observed in 900 schools by thousands of students who recited the 52-word Preamble to the Constitution or otherwise; and the launch of the Civics Renewal Network, a partnership of 26 organizations dedicated to raising the profile of civics education, strengthening civic life, and making no-cost, high-quality resources available for teachers and others online at CivicsRenewalNetwork.org.

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Constitution Day and Citizenship Day was established by the 2004 Byrd Amendment. Click here to see more photos from the day’s events, including an American Academy of Arts & Sciences panel on the role of civic institutions at the Newseum’s Knight Conference Center. Watch students participate in the Preamble Challenge here, on the Civics Renewal Network website.

A survey released by the Annenberg Public Policy Center for Constitution Day found that Americans know surprisingly little about their own government and Constitution. While a little more than a third of respondents (36 percent) could name all three branches of the U.S. government, just as many (35 percent) could not name a single one. Learn more about the survey here. Read news coverage of the day below.

News coverage of the events:

Annenberg Public Policy Center civics knowledge survey:

Naturalization Ceremonies: