2008 Woodie Awards
USA celebrates Constitution Day
Devi Sampat
Staff Writer
Issue date: 9/24/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
University of Alabama School of Law Professor Susan Pace Hamill presented a lecture titled "Of Constitutions and Taxes" to observe Constitution Day Sept. 17.
To open the lecture with her beliefs on reforming the Alabama State Constitution, Hamill began by asking whether anyone knew that the city of Mobile had to make an amendment in order to spray rats around the town.
In effect, Hamill wanted to convince listeners that "while the subject of a constitution is hard to wrap your hands around, it is important to put it all together and compare the main U.S. Constitution to that of its states."
Throughout the lecture, students and faculty learned the text of the U.S. Constitution, ranging from various amendments giving groups of people the right to vote, to the branches of government, functions of congress and finally an in-depth look into the 16th Amendment, which grants Congress the power to lay and collect taxes on income.
"A tax is one of those things like spinach," Hamill commented. "It is healthy if done right, but unless you are a health nut, you really don't like it all that much."
Hamill also informed listeners of the importance of taxes as primary resources for court judges, roads, police units and other public provided facilities. Hamill raised awareness on the issues dealing with tax collection and monetary appropriations in our system of government. Finally, Hamill used her lecture to hone in on the 10th Amendment concerning states' rights, and the effect of the Alabama State Constitution on its people.
"The Alabama Constitution anchored tax injustice from the creation of the constitution in 1901," Hamill said. "More than half of its people were disenfranchised from voting during that time, and the limitations put on social and economic development can be still seen in Alabama today."
"My hope is that all you children get your act together and use your gifts to find and fix problems within your government in your time," Hamill said.
Freshman Phillip Bachmann attended the Constitution Day lecture and came away with a greater awareness of state governments.
"This just showed me that Alabama requires a lot of work involving getting down to the people," Bachmann said.
Dr. Ronald Nelson, political science and criminal justice professor, also felt the lecture was a learning experience.
"Bringing in an expert, outside speaker was effective in giving the students the big picture of the U.S. Constitution and then relating it to our state constitution," Nelson said.
The political science and criminal justice departments and SGA sponsored the lecture. According to Congress approved legislation in 2004, Constitution Day is primarily designed to teach primary, secondary and post-secondary students more about the U.S. Constitution.
"Our Constitution matters, so hopefully we can use this day to think about the effect of the Constitution on our lives and on society," Dr. Nelson said.
To open the lecture with her beliefs on reforming the Alabama State Constitution, Hamill began by asking whether anyone knew that the city of Mobile had to make an amendment in order to spray rats around the town.
In effect, Hamill wanted to convince listeners that "while the subject of a constitution is hard to wrap your hands around, it is important to put it all together and compare the main U.S. Constitution to that of its states."
Throughout the lecture, students and faculty learned the text of the U.S. Constitution, ranging from various amendments giving groups of people the right to vote, to the branches of government, functions of congress and finally an in-depth look into the 16th Amendment, which grants Congress the power to lay and collect taxes on income.
"A tax is one of those things like spinach," Hamill commented. "It is healthy if done right, but unless you are a health nut, you really don't like it all that much."
Hamill also informed listeners of the importance of taxes as primary resources for court judges, roads, police units and other public provided facilities. Hamill raised awareness on the issues dealing with tax collection and monetary appropriations in our system of government. Finally, Hamill used her lecture to hone in on the 10th Amendment concerning states' rights, and the effect of the Alabama State Constitution on its people.
"The Alabama Constitution anchored tax injustice from the creation of the constitution in 1901," Hamill said. "More than half of its people were disenfranchised from voting during that time, and the limitations put on social and economic development can be still seen in Alabama today."
"My hope is that all you children get your act together and use your gifts to find and fix problems within your government in your time," Hamill said.
Freshman Phillip Bachmann attended the Constitution Day lecture and came away with a greater awareness of state governments.
"This just showed me that Alabama requires a lot of work involving getting down to the people," Bachmann said.
Dr. Ronald Nelson, political science and criminal justice professor, also felt the lecture was a learning experience.
"Bringing in an expert, outside speaker was effective in giving the students the big picture of the U.S. Constitution and then relating it to our state constitution," Nelson said.
The political science and criminal justice departments and SGA sponsored the lecture. According to Congress approved legislation in 2004, Constitution Day is primarily designed to teach primary, secondary and post-secondary students more about the U.S. Constitution.
"Our Constitution matters, so hopefully we can use this day to think about the effect of the Constitution on our lives and on society," Dr. Nelson said.
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