The U.S. Constitution, signed on September 17, 1787, created America’s federal government, established fundamental laws and legal structures while guaranteeing certain basic rights for American citizens.

Native American History

American Indian Movement (AIM) is founded

1968

Women’s History

Hillary Clinton accepts Democratic nomination for president

2016

Sargent and Hutchinson arrive at Horn’s Hook, New York

1776

Rudy Vallée is born

1901

Natural Disasters &amp; Environment

One of the worst earthquakes in modern history destroys Chinese city

1976

Great Depression

Bonus Marchers evicted by U.S. Army

1932

Tazio Nuvolari triumphs over Germans at the Nurburgring

1935

U.S. Constitution

14th Amendment adopted

1868

Hamburg suffers a firestorm

1943

Vietnam War

President Johnson announces more troops to Vietnam

1965

CIA reports minor damage done to North Vietnam’s dikes

1972

Dennis Martinez pitches perfect game

1991

U.S. Presidents

Future first lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy is born

1929

Indian agent James McLaughlin dies

1923

1970s

Grizzly bear is classified as a “threatened” species

1975

The U.S. Constitution established America’s government and guaranteed basic rights for its citizens. Learn more about the Bill of Rights, constitutional amendments and more.

U.S. Constitution: Preamble and Amendments | HISTORY

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1788

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History.com Editors

Discover what happened on December 15 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

December 15

Discover what happened on March 30 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

March 30

The 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1868, granting citizenship and extending rights to formerly enslaved people. President Andrew Johnson narrowly survived conviction in his impeachment trial, and Americans elected Civil War hero Ulysses S. Grant to succeed him. The Meiji Restoration began in Japan, marking an end to the nation’s feudal era and the rise of rapid modernization. Thomas Edison filed his first patent (for a vote recorder), and Louisa May Alcott published the first volume of “Little Women.”

1787

Discover what happened on August 6 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

August 6

Discover what happened on June 4 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

June 4

Discover what happened on September 17 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

September 17

The first year of Roaring Twenties in the U.S. brought votes for women and an official start to the nationwide ban on alcohol. The League of Nations met for the first time in Geneva, and the Mexican Revolution ended after 10 years. The Band-Aid debuted, the first commercial radio broadcast hit the airwaves, transmitting the Harding-Cox presidential race results, and Jazz Age author F. Scott Fitzgerald published his first novel, “This Side of Paradise.”

1920

Discover what happened on September 25 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

September 25

1919

Discover what happened on August 26 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

August 26

George Washington became the first president of the United States in 1789, the same year the new U.S. Constitution went into effect and Congress drafted the Bill of Rights. In Paris, rioters stormed the Bastille prison, a key moment in the French Revolution. Things were stormy even at sea, as rebellious British sailors set their tyrannical captain William Bligh adrift in a rowboat—the famous mutiny on the Bounty.

1789

Discover what happened on June 21 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

June 21

1870

1791

Discover what happened on July 28 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

U.S. Constitution ‑ This Day In History

This Day in History Video: What Happened on July 28

First draft of Constitution debated

Bill of Rights passes Congress

U.S. Constitution signed

Congress passes the 19th Amendment, paving the way for women to vote

Bill of Rights is finally ratified

15th Amendment adopted

19th Amendment adopted

U.S. Constitution ratified

14th Amendment adopted