Did You Know...

Moving the Constitution

On September 17, 1787, the Constitution was signed and officially adopted by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. When the federal government moved to Washington, D.C., in 1800, the Constitution did too, where it was held in the State Department until 1921. That year, President Warren G. Harding signed an executive order transferring it, and the Declaration of Independence, to the Library of Congress for public display. The documents remained there except when they were transferred to Fort Knox for safekeeping during World War II. Despite an unveiling ceremony at the Library in 1951 to mark the debut of specially made exhibition cases, concerns over the long-term preservation and safety of the documents led to another move—under armed guard—to the National Archives where they can be found today. Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson presided over the unveiling ceremonies at both the Library and at the National Archives.