 (Not a student yet? Enroll for free at www.gwschool.net.) I love the Constitution of the United States because it provides the basis to be governed by law and not by the avarice and pride of men. I know that we received it by the help of Almighty God and I believe the men who wrote it were raised up for this very purpose. Here is what some of my comrades have said about the Constitution: William Gladstone, Prime Minister of England, said of the Constitution in 1878: "It was the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man."[1] In 1789 Justice Joseph Story said in his Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: "The structure has been erected by architects of consummate skill and fidelity; its foundations are solid; its components are beautiful, as well as useful; its arrangements are full of wisdom and order and its defenses are impregnable from without. It has been reared for immortality, if the work of man may justly aspire to such a title. It may, nevertheless, perish in an hour by folly, or corruption, or negligence of its only keepers, THE PEOPLE. Republics are created by virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens."[2] In 1796, speaking of America's youth, George Washington warned: "A primary object...should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And what duty more pressing...than communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the country?"[3] Daniel Webster, a U.S. Senator from 1827 to 1841 and from 1845-1850, stated: "I regard it (the Constitution) as the work of the purest patriots and wisest statesmen that ever existed, aided by the smiles of a benign [kind and generous] Providence; it almost appears a Divine interposition [intervention] in our behalf...the hand that destroys our Constitution rends our Union asunder forever."[4] Samuel Adams, one of the "firebrands" of the Revolution stated, "The liberties of our country, the freedoms of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards; it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors. They purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood. It will bring a mark of everlasting infamy on the present generation - enlightened as it is - if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of designing men."[5] William Pitt, a great leader in Parliament, stated: "It will be the wonder and admiration of all future generations, and the model of all future constitutions."[6] Sir John A. Macdonald, the first prime minister of Canada said: "I think and believe that it is one of the most perfect organizations that ever governed a free people."[7] After the French Revolution of 1848, Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville urged his countrymen to look to America if they wanted to find the formula for the best government on earth. He said: "For sixty years the [American] people...have increased in opulence; and--consider it well--it is found to have been, during that period, not only the most prosperous, but the most stable of all the nations of the earth...Where else could we find greater causes of hope, or more instructive lessons? Let us look to America, not in order to make a servile copy of the institutions that she has established, but to gain a clearer view of the polity that will be the best for us.... The laws of the French republic may be, and ought to be in many cases, different from those which govern the United States; but the principles on which the American Constitution rests, those principles of order, of the balance of powers, of true liberty, of deep and sincere respect for right, are indispensable to all republics."[8] Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth President of the United States of America, said: "Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties." [9] People hold the Constitution in such high esteem because it has been the document that has led America to be the most free and prosperous nation in recorded history. We all take an oath to uphold the Constitution beginning with the President of the United States. He takes the Presidential Oath of Office. The oath is to be taken by the President on first entering office and is specified in Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution, which reads: I do solemnly swear [affirm] that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.[10] In other words, the President promises to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. That is his main objective as President of the United States. However, as citizens we are all under an implied Oath of Citizenship, which is as follows: I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God. In addition, Constitution Day is celebrated every September 17. To promote this day President George W. Bush has asked that we celebrate this day for an entire week every year. Please read the following: Citizenship Day and Constitution Week Proclamation Citizenship Day and Constitution Week, 2001 By the President of the United States of America Proclamation As the delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia began working on what would become the United States Constitution, they grasped that a great democracy must be built on the twin foundations of national consent to a Federal Government and respect for individual rights. After more than two centuries of continual cultural, legal, and economic change, our unique experiment in self-government has borne successful witness to the prescient genius and timeless wisdom of our Founding Fathers. Throughout America's history, in times of turmoil and peace, liberty and oppression, our faith in the Constitution's promise of freedom and democracy has been a steadfast rock of national stability against the raging seas of political change. Today, in the face of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, we must call upon, more than ever, the Constitutional principles that make our country great. In creating our Nation's Constitutional framework, the Convention's delegates recognized the dangers inherent in concentrating too much power in one person, branch, or institution. They wisely crafted a Government that balanced the functions and authority of a Federal system among three separate but equal branches: the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial. As a further check on central power, the Framers granted citizens the right to vote, giving them the power to express their political preferences peacefully and thereby to effect change in the Government. The Convention delegates ratified the Constitution on September 17, 1787, and submitted it to the States for approval. After much deliberation and discussion at the State level, the following two concerns emerged from among those who feared the Constitution's proposed centralization of Federal power: (1) the threat of tyranny; and (2) the loss of local control. To address these fears, our Founders amended the Constitution by adding a Bill of Rights. These ten amendments provided a series of clear limits on Federal power and a litany of protective rights to citizens. This development underscored the important and enduring Constitutional principle of enumerated powers, and it set our national course on a route that would eventually enhance and expand individual rights and liberties. Today, our Nation celebrates not only the longest-lived written Constitution in world history, but also the enduring commitment of our forebears who upheld the Constitution's core principles through the travails of American history. They pursued a more perfect Union as abolitionists, as suffragists, or as civil rights activists, successfully seeking Constitutional amendments that have strengthened the protections provided to all Americans under law. In so doing, they rendered the moral resolve of our Nation stronger and clearer. Our Republic would surely founder but for the faith and confidence that we collectively place in our Constitution. And it could not prosper without our diligent commitment to upholding the Constitution's original words and implementing its founding principles. From the noble efforts of public servants to the civic acts of local people, our continuous Constitutional engagement has proved to be an exceptional feature of our Nation's prosperous development. To continue this legacy, each of us must recognize that we bear a solemn responsibility to promote the ideals of freedom and opportunity throughout our land. We each should serve our Nation by actively supporting and shaping our Government's institutions, by working together to build strong communities, and by loving our neighbors. Doing this will ensure that the American dream will become real for every willing citizen; and, in fulfilling this call together, we will honor the spirit of our powerful and enduring Constitution. The Congress, by joint resolution of February 29, 1952 (36 U.S.C. 106), designated September 17 as "Citizenship Day," and by joint resolution of August 2, 1956 (36 U.S.C. 108), requested that the President proclaim the week beginning September 17 and ending September 23 of each year as "Constitution Week." NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 17, 2001, as Citizenship Day and September 17 through September 23, 2001, as Constitution Week. I encourage Federal, State, and local officials, as well as leaders of civic, social, and educational organizations, to conduct ceremonies and programs that celebrate our Constitution and reaffirm our commitment as citizens of our great Nation. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-sixth. George W. Bush[11] Scott Swain is president of Roots of Freedom, an educational company focused on increasing patriotism among youth. He has developed four product lines to do this: freedom galleries, freedom bowls, Cries of Freedom curriculum and simulated experiences including Milestones of Freedom. He is actively involved in educating and inspiring both youth and adults to return to their roots of freedom. [1] "The Constitution--A Heavenly Banner" available from http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=6985; accessed 1 July 2006. [2] "Justice Story" available from http://www.bartleby.com/73/63.html; accessed 1 July 2006. [3] " Avalon Project" available from http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/sou/washs08.htm; accessed 1 July 2006. [4] "Truth and Liberty" available from http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=7017; accessed 1 July 2006. [5] " Congressional Record" available from http://www.senate.gov/~hutchison/speec270.htm; accessed 1 July 2006. [6] "Remembering Benjamin Franklin" available from http://www.nccs.net/newsletter/jan06nl.html; accessed 1 July 2006. [7] "Remembering Benjamin Franklin" available from http://www.nccs.net/newsletter/jan06nl.html; accessed 1 July 2006. [8] Available from http://www.cputah.org/html/political_convention.html; accessed 1 July 2006. [9] "Lincoln's 1865 Speech in Bronson Park" available from http://www.kpl.gov/collections/localhistory/allabout/general/LincolnSpeech.aspx; accessed 1 July 2006. [10] "President Inagurations" available from http://www.americanpresident.org/history/; accessed 1 July 2006. [11] Available from http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010917-15.html; accessed 1 July 2006. | (Not a student yet? Enroll for free at www.gwschool.net.)
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