For over two decades, Montpelier has served the public with Constitutional education and engagement. We educate teachers, law enforcement, international groups, and everyday visitors about James Madison’s unparalleled political genius as “Father of the Constitution” and author of the Bill of Rights. We are also equally committed to exploring the history of the Invisible Founders who built the nation through their knowledge, expertise, and labor. 

In keeping with our decades-long commitment to sharing the story of our founding document, Montpelier has launched Constitution Month. Join our programs throughout September, including educational panels, Constitution and Bill of Rights tours, and on-site activities. 

Visit Montpelier on Saturday, September 17, 2022, for a series of panels about the state of our democracy and potential threats to our freedom. Visitors can take advantage of specialty tours, activity booths, and interactive discussions with Mr. Madison himself. 

For those seeking to participate from the comfort of home, Montpelier is offering a series of virtual panels that explore what the Constitution means to all Americans.

As stated in the Preamble to the Constitution, it is “the people” who give legitimacy to the founding document. We hope you will participate in Montpelier’s Constitution Month to explore the history and meaning of our democracy and the freedoms it enshrines. 

 Tours are by reservation - we encourage you to purchase your tour tickets before your visit!

Join us on Saturday, September 17 for specialty tours, activity booths, and speaker panels. A local food truck will also be serving up delicious meals. Purchase tour tickets (available 2-weeks in advance).

Libation Ceremony, 9:30am-10:00am, Enslaved Cemetery
This Constitution Day, we honor our Founders – including James Madison and the Invisible Founders enslaved at Montpelier and surrounding plantations. While Madison and his contemporaries conceptualized the structure of a new government, enslaved Americans built the nation through their knowledge, expertise, and labor. This ceremony will not only commemorate those buried at Montpelier, but all enslaved people who founded the country. Join members of Montpelier Descendants Committee at the enslaved cemetery to honor the ancestors. Those descendants attending the ceremony are encouraged to share the names of their ancestors – both enslaved and free – to honor them.

Visit with Mr. Madison, 10am-3pm
Visitors have an opportunity to engage with James Madison in all his genius and complexity. Mr. Madison will discuss a range of topics, from his life at Montpelier to the writing of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. More information.

Bill of Rights Tour, 10am, 2pm; $10
This outdoor walking tour explores James Madison's critical role as "Architect" of the Bill of Rights.  During about an hour on the Montpelier landscape, participants will compare Madison's proposals with selected Amendments as ratified, and consider a few landmark Supreme Court cases delineating the language of the Bill of Rights.
More information and to register.

Constitution Tour, 10:30am, 1:30pm; $35
James Madison did more than any other single person to create, secure and perpetuate our revolutionary system of government. And it was here at Montpelier that he found inspiration and conceived many of his initial ideas. This one hour tour explores the origins of the Constitution at Montpelier and the legacy it leaves today.
More information and to register.

Panel: Equal Power-Sharing at Montpelier, 10:30am, FREE
Structural parity, or equal power-sharing, is a community-based governance model. An example of the type of democracy James Madison himself proposed, parity offers exciting new opportunities for Montpelier and our visitors. Join the leadership of The Montpelier Foundation and the Montpelier Descendants Committee (MDC) to learn about what this new power-sharing relationship means for Montpelier’s future.
More information on limited in person or virtual attendance.

The Enslaved Community Tour, noon, $10
This walking tour of significant sites examines one of America's largest paradoxes: a nation where "all men are created equal" built by those who are denied the exact freedoms they were laboring to establish.
Register.

Panel: Is the Constitution in Danger?, 1:00pm, FREE for in person attendees; FREE for virtual attendees
America is experiencing a moment of political strife, one that threatens the core of our democracy. When James Madison established the framework for our founding document in 1787, only a fraction of the population could participate in this new and revolutionary form of government. America has not evolved effortlessly toward democracy. Join panelists in a discussion about the current political crisis, America’s vulnerability to democratic collapse, and how we can reinvigorate the American democratic spirit.
More information on limited in person or virtual attendance.

Food trucks and beverages for purchase, 11am-3pm

Before James Madison conceptualized the US Constitution, people of African descent laid the foundation for American democracy. Over the centuries, Black Americans have fought for and gained rights of citizenship, efforts rooted in Madisonian principles. Equality, however, still remains elusive. Join Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries and Dr. Leslie Alexander in a conversation about how Black Americans have shaped American democracy from the writing of the Constitution through the Civil Rights Movement.
More information and to register.

Bill of Rights Tour, 10am, 2pm; $10
This outdoor walking tour explores James Madison's critical role as "Architect" of the Bill of Rights.  During about an hour on the Montpelier landscape, participants will compare Madison's proposals with selected Amendments as ratified, and consider a few landmark Supreme Court cases delineating the language of the Bill of Rights.
More information and to register.

Panel: Voices from the Community: How to be a Young Change-Maker, 11am
Join elected officials and youth ambassadors from the Orange community in a conversation about the importance of civic engagement. Panelists will address how to create change at the local level with a focus on youth participation. Discover how to engage in the democratic process in your own community.
More information and to register. 

East Woods Walk, 10am-1pm, $25/Adult; $13/Child; 6-12 free
Take a hike under the canopy.Join us on a 3-hour, 2 mile hike in which we will explore the hidden farm complex that lies beneath the high canopy in a remote section of Montpelier's 2650 acre forest. Participants will discover a unique national historic site that archaeologists have recently discovered. LiDAR and metal detector surveys have revealed the engineering genius of the enslaved farmers who innovated advanced agricultural drainage systems that turned wetlands into croplands and allowed Madison market tobacco in the 1820s.  Discoveries such as these, which lie undisturbed after centuries in this landscape,  revolutionize our understanding of the significant neglected intellectual contributions of enslaved people in the Founding era.
More information and to register.

Virtual Panel: Getting Organized! How to Help Create Inclusive Communities, 7pm, FREE
Community organizing can take many forms, from civic engagement to the democratization of art. We all have a role to play in creating healthy, inclusive communities. This panel explores how local organizers shape their communities through youth civic engagement, exhibition of art, and cultural resource management. Attendees will come away with a better sense of how we can build into our communities through our own unique skills and passions.
More information and to register.