CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — In recognition of Constitution Day on September 17, The Rutherford Institute is calling on all Americans to read the document that one historian described as “the owners’ manual to the greatest form of government the world has ever known.” To assist those who accept this challenge, the Institute has committed to send a free pocket-sized copy of the Constitution to any individual who requests one. The Institute strives to educate Americans about their constitutional rights through a multitude of legal and educational programs, including its First Liberties public service radio campaign. In an effort to help educate students, parents, teachers and school administrators about how to comply with the Constitution in public schools, the Institute also recently launched its annual “ABC’s of the Constitution in the Classroom” campaign.
“Thomas Jefferson once said that ‘eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.’” That vigilance must begin with an understanding of the rights enshrined in our Constitution,” stated John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “Only by understanding what our rights are can we hope to safeguard them for future generations. All Americans, from the smallest student right up to the president of the United States of America needs to read the Constitution at least once in their lives. Government leaders should read it at least once a year.”
Under a 2005 spending bill, any school that receives federal dollars must hold an educational program about the U.S. Constitution on Constitution Day, Sept. 17, the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. This year, Constitution Day will be celebrated on Friday, September 16. Sadly, several recent surveys illustrate the need to better educate the public about their constitutional rights. For example, one survey that was commissioned by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation found that nearly three-fourths of high school students either do not know how they feel about the First Amendment or admit they take it for granted. Another survey commissioned by the First Amendment Center reported that when asked to name specific rights guaranteed by the First Amendment, only 20% of those surveyed named freedom of religion, while 16% named freedom of the press. According to the Harris Poll, which was commissioned by the American Bar Association, fewer than half of Americans can correctly identify the meaning of separation of powers; more than one in five identified the three branches of government as Republican, Democrat and Independent; and nearly 30 percent said they believe the judicial branch advises the president and Congress about the legality of an action before they take it. In his introduction to The Rutherford Institute’s Pocket Constitution, Whitehead recounts how, in the summer of 1787, 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention gathered at Independence Hall in Philadelphia to hold their final meeting and sign into existence the U.S. Constitution. When the delegates to the Constitutional Convention trudged out of Independence Hall, an anxious woman in the crowd inquired of Benjamin Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” “A republic,” Franklin replied, “if you can keep it.”
Founded in 1982 by constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute is an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization committed to defending constitutional and human rights.
