ABA Web Site Prepares America for National Civics Lesson on Constitution Day

WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 13, 2005 – A new Web site will help Americans rediscover a resilient document that has guided our nation through crises ranging from the Civil War to the current recovery from Hurricane Katrina – the  U.S. Constitution.

The new site,  www.abaconstitution.org, offers educational discussions, interactive knowledge tests and a segment on how the Constitution affects young people. Visitors to the American Bar Association site also can receive a free pocket-sized Constitution.

The site is being unveiled in time to help schools and workplaces cope with a new law that calls for educational programs honoring Constitution Day, which takes place Sept. 17.

“A day devoted to the Constitution might seem odd at a time when many Americans are battling the tragic and life-threatening conditions of Hurricane Katrina,” said ABA President Michael S. Greco. “Actually, it’s a very appropriate time. The Constitution has seen us through many of our nation’s greatest crises, and it continues to do so.”

Greco said a poll conducted in July for the ABA showed that many Americans don’t understand key concepts of the Constitution. For instance, only 45 percent of American adults correctly defined the Separation of Powers doctrine, which gives each branch of government distinct powers.  Only 55 percent correctly identified Congress, the judiciary and the Executive Branch as the three branches of the federal government; 22 percent thought the three branches were Republicans, Democrats and Independents. And most could not identify one of the core duties of the judiciary.

“The U.S. Constitution is a magnificent document, perhaps the most important document ever written.  It protects our right to say to say what we think, to live safely in our homes, and to vote and worship as we choose,” said Greco.  “But we must do a better job of educating the public about our democracy, so that all Americans will vigorously protect the greatest system of government ever devised. When people do not understand their rights, it is easy for others to take them away.”

Greco said the ABA wants to help workplaces and schools that are not fully prepared for a new law that raises the profile of Constitution Day.  The little-known annual celebration takes place on Sept. 17 – the day the Constitution was signed by its drafters in 1787.

For the first time, Congress is requiring that dialogues or lessons on the Constitution be held at schools, federal agencies and other entities that receive federal funding. Because Sept. 17 falls on a Saturday this year, the commemorations are to be held in the days shortly before and after.

In addition, Greco formed a new ABA Commission on Civic Education and the Separation of Powers after the country witnessed an unwarranted series of high-profile attacks on federal judges – including irresponsible threats of impeachment of judges by some members of Congress – that he said undermine the independence that the Constitution gives to judges.  The bipartisan commission, which holds its first meeting Sept. 15 in Washington, D.C., will propose school curriculum and other civic educational reforms in the coming year.

The honorary chairs of the commission are Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley. Also on the commission are former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, former Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, former FBI Director and federal judge William Sessions, former White House Counsel Abner Mikva, former Congressman David Skaggs, and leaders of prominent national educational organizations.

With more than 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law in a democratic society.

How does your knowledge of the U.S. Constitution measure up? Answers to the following true-or-false statements can be found below. Further lessons and interactive knowledge tests about the Constitution can be found at www.abaconstitution.org.

True or false:

1. The U.S. Constitution is the oldest complete written national constitution in the world.
2. Provisions in the Constitution can be overruled by a simple majority of Congress.
3. Famous early American women, including Betsy Ross, Martha Washington and Dolley Madison, were legally eligible to be elected president.
4. There are four branches in the federal government.
5. The Constitution is stored behind doors designed to withstand a nuclear explosion.

Answers:

1. True. It is also the shortest.
2. False. Only an amendment, which requires approval from three/fourths of the states, can overrule any text in the Constitution.
3. True. Women were not allowed to vote in elections until 1920, but the office of the presidency was restricted only to “persons over 35,” as long as they were born in the United States or lived here when the Constitution was approved.
4. False. There are three branches: Congress, the Executive Branch and the judiciary. The news media are sometimes called the Fourth Estate, but it is not part of the government.
5. True. It is kept by the National Archives in Washington, D.C.