Originally adopted on July 9, 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment grants citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” and states that “No State shall…deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
To remind our fellow citizens of their responsibility in that regard, the Cato Institute has distributed more than six million copies of our pocket Constitution. At this time of year, it’ll make a great stocking stuffer.
Let’s enjoy the holidays (and remember many of the positive trends that are underway) but let’s also resolve to be more vigilant about defending our Constitution.
The Bill of Rights was ratified on December 15, 1791, 224 years ago today.
In a Presidential Proclamation released today, President Obama writes that, “In the years since, America has carried forward the spirit enshrined in the Bill of Rights—recognizing that freedom is a value we must forever work to uphold.”
“It’s a disturbing snapshot, to be sure, but not one the Framers of the Constitution would have found altogether surprising. They would sometimes refer to written constitutions as mere ‘parchment barriers,’ or what we call ‘paper tigers.’ They nevertheless concluded that having a written constitution was better than having nothing at all,” writes Lynch. “The key point is this: A free society does not just ‘happen.’ It has to be deliberately created and deliberately maintained. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
This year, the Cato Institute is celebrating Constitution Day (September 17th) with a “flat Stanley-style” Instagram contest. Show us how you use your Pocket Constitution and why the Constitution is important to you and you could win.
Think you and your Pocket Constitution have what it takes to win? Here’s how to enter:
Feel free to enter as many times as possible and be sure to tell your friends about your entry. Popular posts are more likely to win!
We will announce a winner bright and early on Constitution Day. That gives you just 14 days to come up with the perfect reason why the Constitution matters to you and why you carry around a Pocket Constitution.
You know the importance of the Constitution—of encouraging people to better understand the principles of government set forth by America’s founding fathers. Heck, you can probably recite the Bill of Rights by memory. But, are your friends and family as well-versed as you?
Why not remind folks what the holiday is really about this Fourth of July?
The Cato Institute offers special discounts on our famous Pocket Constitution so you can be sure you and everyone you care about has a copy close at hand.
A D.C.-based public policy research organization (or "think tank") dedicated to the values of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace.
