For almost three quarters of a century, advocates have worked to give comparable federal stature to September 17, the day on which we celebrate the anniversary of the 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution by the nation's founders. As President John F. Kennedy noted in his 1961 Constitution Day proclamation, it is a day for "ceremonies" set up to "inspire all our citizens to keep the faith of our Founding Fathers and to carry out the ideals of United States citizenship." The need was explained by President Ronald Reagan in 1981: "While a constitution may set forth rights and liberties," he noted, "only the citizens can maintain and guarantee those freedoms. Active and informed citizenship is not just a right; it is a duty." After briefly chronicling the evolution of Constitution Day and defending the value of educating students about this founding document, the author notes ways that social studies teachers can translate the ideals articulated by Kennedy and Reagan into their classrooms and into the lives of the nation's future leaders.