PHILADELPHIA – Events on the University of Pennsylvania campus on Sept. 17 and 19 will honor the nation’s constitution.  Sept. 17 is Constitution Day.

The Office of Government and Community Affairs and the Fels Institute of Government will host “Founding the Presidency: A Constitution Day Conversation” with historian Richard Beeman and David Thornburgh, Fels executive director.  The event begins at 2 p.m. in the Class of ’49 Auditorium in Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce St.

The Penn Law School will host an exhibition of original documents of James Wilson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, framer of the Constitution and member of the first U.S. Supreme Court, plus other historical documents written or signed by George Washington and Patrick Henry. The exhibition will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Biddle Law Library, 3400 Chestnut St.

The Penn Bookstore at 3601 Walnut St. will feature a special display of American history books, and Penn Leads the Vote, a student group, will conduct a voter-registration drive in the Bookstore lobby from noon to 2 p.m.  

On Sept. 19, the School of Arts and Sciences’ 60-Second Lecture Series will feature Penn professor Mary Francis Berry discussing “What Would the Founders Think: Political Polarization and the 2012 Election.” The talk will be held at Stiteler Plaza, 37th Street and Locust Walk, beginning at 11:55 a.m. In the event of rain, it will be in the Bistro in Houston Hall.