The photographs in this case show Americans of various ethnic backgrounds celebrating “I Am an American Day” in Philadelphia during and immediately after World War II. In 1940, Congress designated the third Sunday of May as “I Am An American Day.” It was a celebration of all Americans who attained the rights of citizenship in the past year, either by becoming naturalized or by reaching voting age.
The holiday was renamed “Citizenship Day” in 1952 and its celebration moved to September 17, the date of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. In 2004, the day was again renamed to “Constitution Day and Citizenship Day,” or simply Constitution Day. Constitution Day is still observed every September 17 by institutions and educators throughout the United States—including the Historical Society of Pennsylvania—as an opportunity to reflect on the rights and obligations of citizenship and the history that has shaped them.
Celebrating Citizenship

Celebrating Citizenship
Exhibit Navigation
- Celebrating Citizenship
- Immigrant Cultures and Communities
- A religious discourse...
- Ancient Order of Hibernians of the state of Pennsylvania incorporation certificate
- Fatou N’Diaye
- Judith Schweyer birth and baptismal certificate
- Map of proposed Chinatown Development and fact sheet
- Pennsylvania Railroad temporary employees from Mexico
- Reveler from the 1924 Mummers Parade
- Nativism and Xenophobia
- Making Americans
- An Americanization Program
- Classroom at Matthias W. Baldwin School circa 1936
- Federal Textbook on Citizenship
- Federal Textbook on Citizenship: The Gardners Become Citizens, Book 2—A Reader for Use in the Public Schools by Candidates for Naturalization
- Leonard Covello, A High School and Its Immigrant Community: A Challenge and an Opportunity
- Students saluting the flag
- Students with map of Europe
- ”D is For Democracy”