September 15, 2009

Events will mark Constitution Day

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University Carbondale will host events later this week to mark Constitution Day, which is Thursday, Sept. 17.

The day marks the 222nd anniversary of delegates to the Philadelphia Convention completing and signing the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787.

All events are free and open to the public.

The SIU School of Law is showing a series of six DVDs and videos that examine the Constitution, key Constitutional concepts, and the U.S. Supreme Court. All of the videos will be in the Hiram H. Lesar Law Building Auditorium, room 120.

The video lineup is:

9-9:30 a.m. -- “Our Constitution: A Conversation.” A June 2005 question-and-answer session with U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Conner and Stephen Breyer and high school students.

10-11 a.m. -- “Key Constitutional Concepts.”

The schedule also includes four one-hour segments on the U.S. Supreme Court originally broadcast on PBS in 2007.

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. -- “One Nation Under Law.” Examines the creation of the U.S. Supreme from its inception to the Civil War.

1-2 p.m. -- “A New Kind of Justice.” Looks at issues before the U.S. Supreme Court from the period after the Civil War to the late 1930s.

2:30-3:30 p.m. -- “A Nation of Liberties.” Looks at the U.S. Supreme Court’s reaction to state and federal legislation on Bill of Rights freedoms, with special attention to civil rights’ cases from the early 1940s to today.

4-5 p.m. -- “The Rehnquist Revolution.” Looks at the recent development of the U.S. Supreme Court, particularly under the leadership of the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who served on the Court from 1972 until his death in September 2005.

The political science department in the College of Liberal Arts will also show three DVDs on the Constitution. The DVDs, “The Constitution,” parts 1 and 2, and “Our Constitution: A Conversation,” will air from 10 a.m. until noon in Faner Hall, room 3075.

All educational institutions funded with federal money must annually deliver programs on the U.S. Constitution in September.