Constitution Day is held on Sep 17, which is a Tuesday this year, and Owens Community College will have a presentation organized by Political Science Professor Megan Kerr and History Professor Dr. Steve Culbertson.
Professor Kerr received her Master of Arts degree in political science from Northern Illinois University. Professor Kerr currently teaches introduction to U.S. Federal Government, Introduction to Comparative Politics, a state and local government course, and a contemporary global issues course.
One might find themselves asking why they should be interested in attending the presentation. I challenge you to reflect on “We the People” and then ask, who are the people mentioned in those three words?
The U.S. federal government legally mandates that public schools offer educational programs that help its citizens to understand the U.S. Constitution. When asked why Professor Kerr is passionate about this day, she responded with “The annual recognition of Constitution Day gives me the opportunity to discuss how parts of the U.S. Constitution may impact individuals’ everyday lives to the larger OCC community.”
To dig a little deeper into “impacting individuals’ everyday lives.” In the year 1787, the Constitution was written to unite the colonies on a national level and give enough power to the government while still allowing fundamental rights to each of the colonies. At the time prior, there were the Confederate Articles which were not written in a way that could sustain the countries new normal.
Written in the Constitution is the three-fifths compromise; that is where it is discussed that each state gets two senators, but the house of representatives is determined by the population of the state. This is where “impacting individuals’ everyday lives” comes into play.
During this period, black people were not considered (African) Americans yet; this was a big debate during that time. If the southern states were allowed to count all their slaves as members of the population and not property, the south would have held more political power than the north.
As a compromise, they defined enslaved black people as 3/5 of a human, as stated in Article 1 Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution continues to mention how the owners of purchased persons–slaves–would be taxed a maximum of $10 and there would be no maximum on how many “purchased persons” a citizen could have for twenty years.
Figured out who the people are in “We the People”? If not, don’t worry; you can get to know them in this year’s presentation. The theme of the 2024 presentation will center on how the rights of the U.S. Constitution are contained and have been extended to more individuals over time.
Professor Kerr did confirm however that “a portion of the anticipated content involves OCC community members (faculty, students, staff, etc.) to give re-enactments of important speeches or writings that have been given or composed at important points in U.S. Constitutional History.”
Some of these speeches could be from Fredrick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, African American Soldiers that fought in either the Civil War or World War 1, Barbra Jordan, etc. allowing for inclusion and a different perspective. Something that the original document did not do.
Professor Kerr wants the students who attend this year’s presentation to “acknowledge that it has been a struggle to extend constitutional rights to more individuals. This process has been very slow, and that the protection of constitutional rights is not guaranteed, even if they are extended.”
The United States Constitution has been amended 27 times since its creation. While the Constitution is still not perfect, the 13th Amendment has moved it in the right direction for all citizens in the United States.
For more information please email, Professor Kerr at [email protected] or Dr. Steve Culbertson [email protected] and join us on Tuesday, September 17 at 1 p.m. in College Hall 100.
