Posthumous book urges Americans to take Constitution Day seriously

By AI, Created 6:05 AM UTC, May 26, 2026, /AGP/ – Dale Dungan Pullen’s new book, The 17th of September 1787 Constitution Day, is now available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The posthumous release aims to spotlight the Constitutional Convention, the compromises behind the founding document and the case for giving Sept. 17 greater civic importance.

Why it matters: - The book argues that Constitution Day has been treated as a low-profile observance even as civic knowledge declines and many younger Americans cannot name the three branches of government. - The release aims to make Sept. 17 feel more consequential by framing the Constitution as the product of compromise, conflict and political risk. - Pullen’s final project also doubles as a civics resource for teachers working to meet the federal requirement to teach the Constitution on Sept. 17.

What happened: - The 17th of September 1787 Constitution Day is now available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble in paperback, hardcover and Kindle formats. - The posthumously published book was written by Dale Dungan Pullen and released by his son, Claude John Pullen. - The book focuses on the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, where 55 delegates debated for four months inside the State House. - Dale Dungan Pullen died in 2017.

The details: - The book covers clashes between small states and large states, the North and the South, slaveholders and abolitionists, and advocates of church-state separation and religious freedom. - The narrative also explores tensions between supporters of monarchy and those who had fought the Revolutionary War to reject it. - Pullen presents the Constitution as an achievement shaped by compromise after near-breakdown in Philadelphia. - The book highlights the influence of thinkers including Locke, Montesquieu and Paine, whose ideas the Founders adapted to American conditions. - It also recounts the state-by-state ratification fights, including Patrick Henry’s opposition in Virginia and Alexander Hamilton’s effort to hold New York together. - James Madison is presented as the central architect of the Constitution and a figure Pullen believed deserved a national memorial. - The book is described as simple and accessible, with visuals meant to help readers picture the people and places behind constitutional history.

Between the lines: - The book is not just historical recap. It is a civic argument that modern polarization could benefit from the Founders’ willingness to bargain. - Pullen’s emphasis on controversy suggests the book is aimed at readers who want a less sanitized version of the Constitution’s origin story. - The project reflects a broader concern that civics education has weakened and that public rituals around the Constitution have lost force. - Pullen’s son publishing the book after his death gives the release a memorial quality as much as an educational one.

What’s next: - The book is positioned for teachers, students and general readers who want a compact guide to the founding debates behind the Constitution. - Pullen’s campaign for a more prominent Constitution Day continues through the book, which argues for greater recognition of Sept. 17. - The Amazon listing provides more information on the book’s availability and format details.

The bottom line: - Pullen’s book turns Constitution Day into a call for civic memory, compromise and renewed attention to how the Constitution was actually made.