As I watched the September 10 presidential debate, I thought about the upcoming September 17 celebration of Constitution Day, the 237th birthday of the document that defines the United States of America. How appropriate that the debate took place at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center. Throughout the year the Center offers brilliant online and in-person programs. The Center holds its annual Constitution Day celebration Tuesday, September 17, from 9:30am to 5pm, with free museum admission courtesy of PECO.
I’ve written before about the importance of studying the Constitution, grade school through grad school. Constitutional study means more than familiarity with the 1787 document, which has been amended 27 times and interpreted by nearly two-and-half centuries of Supreme Court decisions.
The writers of the 1787 document did not imagine that citizens would be influenced by presidential debates. In fact, they took some pains to protect the presidential election process from the general public. Hence, the Electoral College, which in 2024 still officially decides presidential elections. The Founders thought it best to place a buffer between the populace and the decisions about presidential leadership.
The three branches of government — executive, legislative and judicial — were the subtle understory of several debate topics.
The Constitution of 1787 did not allow women or people of color to vote. The universal franchise was achieved through the Fourteenth and Nineteenth Amendments. On September 10, 2024, a woman and person of color took the stage as one of our two major political parties’ candidates. Both candidates knew that women and people of color might be the very ones to decide the election.
Many important things have not changed through amendment or Supreme Court decision since September 17, 1787. The exact wording of the Presidential oath of office is specified in Article II, Section One, Clause B of the Constitution:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
It’s interesting to observe that the Founders allowed presidents to “affirm,” rather than to swear because of respect for religious choice. Also worth noting: the promise a president makes to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Before the debate, former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter beseeched ABC Moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis to test Vice President Harris and former President Trump on basic Constitutional knowledge:
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- What are the first three words of the Constitution establishing the idea of self-government? How do they inform decisions you’d make as President and leader of the free world?
- How many rights are declared in the First Amendment, what are they, and what does the Amendment with which the Framers chose to open our founding document mean to you?
While, unfortunately, the ABC moderators did not take Mayor Nutter’s advice, we can still view the debate through a Constitutional lens.
Constitutional issues and the candidates
The clearest Constitutional issue came up in the discussions at various points in the debate about the January 6 insurrection. Vice President Harris accused former President Trump of “contempt for the Constitution of the United States.” She referenced the fundamental democratic value of the peaceful transfer of power. The ABC moderators later asked Donald Trump if he had any regrets about January 6. He did not answer.
The moderators asked Trump whether he still maintained that he won the 2020 election. He replied that his recent statement that “he lost by a hair” was sarcasm. He then doubled down on the false claim that he won.
A connected Constitutional matter involved the recent Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity. Vice President Harris warned that if Donald Trump were to be elected a second time, he would use the Department of Justice to seek vengeance on his opponents.
The first three words of the Constitution — “We the people”— are most important.
The Supreme Court was also an issue in the discussions of reproductive rights. Harris quoted Trump on his many statements taking credit for appointing justices who ultimately overturned Roe v. Wade. Trump referenced the court’s ruling that reproductive rights should be decided by the states and claimed that the general public liked it that way.
Not specifically spoken, but lurking in the background of the Supreme Court references, was the Constitutional requirement that justices nominated by the President must be approved by the U.S. Senate. Voters concerned about the makeup of the court should be alert not only to the selection of president but to which party wins a majority in the Senate.
The three branches of government — executive, legislative and judicial — were the subtle understory of several debate topics. For example, Trump accurately pushed back against Harris’s claim that in her presidency, a divided Congress would pass a revived Roe v. Wade. Harris, meanwhile, referenced Trump’s political manipulation of Republican senators to kill a bipartisan bill on border reform.
Mayor Nutter’s question on the First Amendment would have been an excellent one for the candidates. Although not specifically referenced, the First Amendment was dramatically present in the tough questions that a free press allowed David Muir and Linsay Davis to pose to a sitting vice president and a former president. Thanks also to the First Amendment, the debate was followed by a no-holds-barred discussion in the media. While Trump’s camp criticized the ABC moderators for bias, as CNN Senior Commentator Scott Jennings said post-debate, “You can’t blame the refs when you miss your jump shots.”
As Mayor Nutter noted, the first three words of the Constitution — “We the people”— are most important. As I listened respectfully to CNN interviews with the Pennsylvania focus group of undecided voters, I wished that we as educators had done a better job of teaching students to view candidates through a Constitutional lens. Many of the reasons for affirming votes for one or another candidate pertained — quite reasonably — to their personal perceptions of a remembered or hoped for lifestyle.
The Preamble of the Constitution moves forward from affirming self-government, “We the People,” to the purposes of that self-government:
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.
As we think about the September 10 debate, let’s apply the concepts in the Preamble to our presidential selection. As Philadelphians, we have the privilege of considering that choice in the inspiring setting of the National Constitution Center. Bring the kids to wish the U.S. Constitution a happy birthday — and get them started on understanding their responsibilities as “We the People.”
Elaine Maimon, Ph.D., is an Advisor at the American Council on Education. She is the author of Leading Academic Change: Vision, Strategy, Transformation. Her long career in higher education has encompassed top executive positions at public universities as well as distinction as a scholar in rhetoric/composition. Her co-authored book, Writing In The Arts and Sciences, has been designated as a landmark text. She is a Distinguished Fellow of the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum. Follow @epmaimon on X.
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