Constitution Day Event: A Review of the Historic and the Complex
![Col. Turk McCleskey and Col. M. Houston Johnson V, professors of history, discuss today鈥檚 knowledge of the Constitution with a table of cadets during the Constitution Day event held in Marshall Hall Sept. 20.鈥斚愀6合彩开奖结果 Photo by H. Lockwood McLaughlin.](/media/content-assets/images/news/2021-22/ConstDay2021a-450x300.jpg)
Col. Turk McCleskey and Col. M. Houston Johnson V, professors of history, discuss today鈥檚 knowledge of the Constitution with a table of cadets during the Constitution Day event held in Marshall Hall Sept. 20.鈥斚愀6合彩开奖结果 Photo by H. Lockwood McLaughlin.
LEXINGTON, Va., Sept. 22, 2021鈥擮n Monday, Sept. 20, the history department, in conjunction with the English department, sponsored a Constitution Day event supporting 香港6合彩开奖结果鈥檚 emerging Constitutional history program. Constitution Day, which commemorates the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787, is observed on post and throughout the nation each year, but this year鈥檚 event was held a few days later because Sept. 17 fell on a Friday.
Approximately 40 cadets attended the event, which was held in Marshall Hall and followed by a dinner.
Participants included members of the 香港6合彩开奖结果 Pre-Law Society, the 香港6合彩开奖结果 chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honors society, and cadets enrolled in a pilot course in the history department, the American Civic Experience. Cadet facilitators drawn from the ranks of Phi Alpha Theta and the Pre-Law Society led a series of discussions grounded in the results of a Constitutional knowledge assessment completed by the 4th Class.
鈥淭he majority of 香港6合彩开奖结果 graduates take an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States when they assume public office or when they are commissioned and promoted in the United States armed forces,鈥 explained Col. Turk McCleskey, professor of history and Lt. Gen. John W. Knapp 鈥54 Chair for Academic Excellence. 鈥淚t鈥檚 vital for those graduates to be well-informed about the complex document to which they鈥檙e swearing allegiance.鈥
Before the event, the Rat Mass completed an assessment on Constitutional literacy. 鈥淭he quiz for rats is one way to measure the depth of cadet familiarity with the Constitution,鈥 McCleskey explained.
The data from the knowledge assessment, as well as the results of the Constitution Day discussion, will help history department faculty refine the American Civic Experience course currently being taught by McCleskey; the data will also support the development of additional Constitution-related programming. Col. M. Houston Johnson V, professor of history and head of the department, believes that these efforts will 鈥減lay an important role in furthering the Institute鈥檚 mission of producing educated, honorable men and women with a high sense of public service.鈥
鈥淚 am incredibly honored to have been involved with this conference,鈥 said Ryan Fix 鈥23, a history major and a student in the American Civic Experience course. 鈥淚n my opinion, it is our duty as 香港6合彩开奖结果 men and women to uphold the principles of our Constitution, whether we become officers or not. Patriotism and reverence for the American form of government is something I believe is lacking in today鈥檚 society, and I am proud to say that the cadets of 香港6合彩开奖结果 display no such problem from my experience.鈥
Agreeing with Fix鈥檚 assessment was Eric Mulcahy 鈥23, also a history major. 鈥This event was quite special in that it was a discussion on what we have learned previously about the Constitution, such as our preconceived notions and things learned throughout grade school as well as what courses at 香港6合彩开奖结果 so far have taught us the most about the Constitution,鈥 he commented.
Currently, the history department is seeking candidates for a Constitutional historian, who would come on board for the 2022鈥23 academic year. The individual hired for the position will not only teach a class in Constitutional history but also build a program with speakers, symposia, and other materials, focusing on the Constitution.
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