IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1417 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that all public elementary schools and public secondary schools should display a copy of the 

Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 8, 2008 

Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut submitted the following resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

all public elementary schools and public secondary 

schools should display a copy of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. 

Whereas the Declaration of Independence expresses the principles of American government that provide the basis for 

our constitutional order and the Constitution and the Bill 

of Rights provide the framework for American law and 

governmental organization; 

Whereas the Founding Fathers wrote these documents in 

order to establish the rights and limitations of Government and to ensure the American people such treasured 

liberties as freedom of speech, due process, and equality 

under the law; 


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•HRES 1417 IH 

Whereas civil knowledge promotes political participation and 

support for democratic values; 

Whereas 67 percent of adult Americans believe that ‘‘it is absolutely essential for ordinary Americans to have a detailed knowledge of their constitutional rights and freedoms’’; 

Whereas, in contrast, only 16 percent of adult Americans believe they have a detailed knowledge of the Constitution; 

Whereas a National Center for Education Statistics (hereafter in this preamble referred to as the ‘‘NCES’’) study 

asserted that an eighth grade student functioning at the 

most basic level ‘‘should be able to identify fundamental 

principles and values of American democracy, such as 

federalism, the separation of powers, checks and balances, government by the consent of the governed, and 

individual rights’’; 

Whereas such study also asserted that such student ‘‘should 

understand that the Declaration of Independence and the 

United States Constitution including the Bill of Rights 

and other Amendments are sources of these ideas’’ and 

that these ‘‘students should be able to explain why it is 

important that citizens share the values and principles 

expressed in the nation’s core documents, and they 

should understand functions of elections, political parties, 

and interest groups in a democratic society’’; 

Whereas one out of every three eighth grade students cannot 

identify and explain such basic constitutional principles, 

and only 22 percent of eighth grade students are actually 

proficient in their understanding of the Constitution; 

Whereas the NCES therefore has called upon State and Federal policymakers to both ‘‘increase the amount of federal 


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•HRES 1417 IH 

funding made available to states for civic education’’ and 

to ‘‘promote civic responsibility and engagement through 

actions and words’’; 

Whereas the NCES further requested in their report that 

Congress supply students with ‘‘materials about democratic institutions’’; 

Whereas, according to the Carnegie Corporation, ‘‘40 State 

constitutions presently mention the importance of civic 

literacy among students and 13 State constitutions express that the central purpose of their educational system 

is to promote good citizenship, democracy, and free government’’; and 

Whereas students should be educated about the Declaration 

of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights 

in the public school system, in order to better understand 

the ideals articulated within them and to become full and 

conscientious citizens: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that all public elementary schools and public 

3 secondary schools should display, in a clear and con4 spicuous location, a copy of the Declaration of Independ5 ence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. 

Æ 


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