Colonists, Citizens, Constitutions

The accompanying book to the Colonists, Citizens, Constitutions portion of the Museum’s 2021 Flags and Founding Documents, 1776-Today exhibition, Colonists, Citizens, Constitutions highlights documents that tell the story of American constitutionalism from the founding era through the turn of the twentieth century. Authored by Dr. James F. Hrdlicka, the book features federal and state constitutional materials that offer essential windows onto the history of the United States. Remarkably numerous and impressively diverse, constitutions enabled Americans to create revolutionary governments of, by, and for the people. Weaving both well-known and less familiar documents into a compelling narrative, the accessible text reveals how Americans have exercised their constitutional powers to shape their communities and why democracy remains an ongoing process, one in which citizens must constantly strive to create “more perfect” unions among themselves. The book features a foreword by late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.