Ohio State panel discusses U.S. Constitution’s enduring impact

Jason Opal

In observance of the nation’s 250th anniversary, The Ohio State University recently hosted a discussion about the origins and enduring impact of the United States Constitution. The event, “Remember Our Union,” was held at the Wexner Center for the Arts on the annual observance of Constitution Day, Sept. 17.

“We have representatives from across the institution here. We have academic leaders, we have faculty members, we have staff members and, most importantly, we have students,” said Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Trevor Brown. “Constitution Day is a day to celebrate and think about and reflect on one of the most remarkable contributions to democracy, but also to learn.”

Jason Opal, dean and director of Ohio State Mansfield and professor of history, delivered the keynote address. The Constitution continues to guide modern-day legal proceedings and politics, he said.

“The Constitution was formed in the summer of 1787. It was released on Sept. 17, which is the occasion for our gathering,” he said. “It was ratified on its own terms the following summer, and it went into effect the following spring in 1789 with the inauguration of the first president, George Washington, and the installation of his first Congress. And [the Constitution] is still in charge. It is still our fundamental law for this moment.”

The event also included a panel discussion featuring Benjamin McKean, associate professor of political science, and Margaret Newell, professor of history. Christopher McKnight Nichols, Wayne Woodrow Hayes Chair in National Security Studies, Mershon Center for International Security Studies, and professor of history, served as moderator.

Several high-profile events on all sides of the political spectrum in recent history have centered on the Constitution, McKean said. He cited the example of Occupy Wall Street, a movement to bring awareness to economic inequality that began on Sept. 17, 2011.

“I do think that it is striking to think about how many different valences Constitution Day can have,” McKean said. “I think that it would be a mistake to reduce it to any one political tendency.”

The nation’s founders intended the Constitution to act as a “living document,” updated periodically to address societal changes, Newell said.

“It was not as static a document that now appears in public debate. … It was a document that government modified, Congress modified immediately and continued to do so,” she said. “I would say it’s a historic document that says something really important. But also, it’s that susceptibility to amendment, change and flexibility that’s made it still relevant in the 21st century.”