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Duke Honors U.S. Constitution Day on Friday; Voting Starts for Local Elections

graphic of the U.S. Constitution
By Duke Today Staff

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." 

This preamble to the U.S. Constitution – signed 234 years ago on Sept. 17, 1787, establishes the mechanism by which this country may achieve lofty national goals. On this anniversary day, Duke joins the rest of the country in celebrating the Constitution’s goal of creating a more perfect union and examining both its strengths and its shortcomings.

“This constitutional mechanism has been improved over the last 234 years and will continue to require amendment as we move into a world that our founders could scarcely have imagined,” said Michael Gillespie, professor of political science and philosophy and director of the Duke Program in American Values and Institutions.  

“The need for justice, domestic tranquillity, and the promotion of the general welfare remain the foremost requirements of our country and are the essential prerequisites of liberty and all the blessings it may bring.  It would be fitting at this time of hyperpartisanship to rededicate ourselves to those goals that our founders laid out, and help to assure their goal, that our union shall long endure.” 

During the day, the Duke Carillon will play several pieces celebrating the US Constitution during the daily 5 p.m. recital. The music will include the National Anthem, "Washington's March," "Variations on America" and "Keller's American Hymn."

The university community is encouraged to use this commemoration as an opportunity to reflect on the values that might guide us to a more inclusive and principled future.

And as a reminder, early voting for local Durham elections has already begun. Visit the Durham Board of Elections website to find time and locations that polls are open.