PLATTSBURGH — The Institute for Ethics in Public Life, in its observance of Constitution Day, will host “Conversations on the Constitution: The Bill of Rights,” with guest speaker Dr. Ray Carman, associate professor and chair of political science, Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 3:30 p.m., in 233 Hawkins Hall or via Zoom.
Constitution Day is the federal observance that recognizes the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, signed Sept. 17, 1787. The U.S. Congress designated Sept. 17 as Constitution Day on Feb. 29, 1952, marking the start of Constitution Week.
The 1952 law was modified in 2004, mandating that all publicly funded educational institutions, and all federal agencies, provide educational programming on the history of the American Constitution on that day. In May 2005, the U.S. Department of Education announced the enactment of this law and that it would apply to any school receiving federal funds of any kind.
Civil Liberties, Bill of Rights
Carman’s discussion, the fifth in the “Conversations on the Constitution” series hosted by the institute and the first of the 2026-2027 academic year, will look at civil liberties and the Bill of Rights.
“The constitution is the founding document of U.S. democracy, yet most of us have probably not read it or thought much about what it says or why,” Dr. Daniel Lake, professor of political science and director of the Institute for Ethics in Public Life, said. “Understanding how our government was supposed to function, and why the founders set it up that way, is particularly important today because of the ongoing battles over government powers playing out in the courts and society.”
The Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, was a response to opposition to the ratification of the Constitution.
Madison: ‘Bill of Rights Not Necessary’
“Many Americans opposed the Constitution because it did not contain a Bill of Rights that specifically limited the powers of the federal government,” Lake said. “While supporters of the Constitution such as James Madison, who drafted the proposed amendments, did not think a Bill of Rights was necessary — arguing that the federal government only had the powers granted by the Constitution. (But he) became a fierce advocate for the passage of the proposed amendments.”
Carman will address how the Bill of Rights reflects and builds upon the Declaration of Independence, Lake said.
“While the institutional structure of the U.S. government laid out in the Constitution reflected both the problems of the overly weak government established by the Articles of Confederation and the desire to prevent monarchical tyranny — as critiqued in the Declaration — the Bill of Rights directly refer back to several of the grievances expressed in the Declaration,” he said.
Dr. Ray Carman
Carman teaches courses on public law, constitutional law, civil rights and liberties, legal research and writing, and judicial politics. He is the author of, “Making Good Law or Good Policy: The Causes and Effects of State Supreme Court Judges’ Role Orientations.”
“Conversations on the Constitution: The Bill of Rights” is free and open to the public. A “Conversations” session looking at the 5th Amendment’s due process clause along with the equal protection clause specifically will be the subject of a future conversation tentatively scheduled for Oct. 14.
For those joining via Zoom, the link is: https://plattsburgh.zoom.us/j/82527528365.
For more information on this and future “Conversations on the Constitution,” contact Lake at 518-564-5833 or email dlake001@plattsburgh.edu.