HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 12-12-2017 - 4-d - Proclamation – Bill of Rights Day 1
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: December 12, 2017
Action Agenda
Item No. 4-d
SUBJECT: Proclamation — Bill of Rights Day
DEPARTMENT: Human Rights and Relations
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
Proclamation Annette Moore, Director, 245-2317
PURPOSE: To adopt a proclamation to officially recognize "Bill of Rights Day" in Orange
County as December 15, 2017.
BACKGROUND: The United States Constitution was ratified by nine of the thirteen states in
1788. However, residents of the new United States of America were concerned that a
centralized government would interfere with states' rights and restrict individual liberties that the
Declaration of Independence proclaimed were inherent and unalienable.
James Madison, a member of the 1st Congress and the "Father of the Constitution", was
charged with reviewing more than 200 proposed changes to the Constitution made by citizens of
the new country. Madison proposed 19 amendments to the Constitution. Congress approved
12, and 10 of those amendments were ratified by the states. The specific government
prohibitions included limiting freedom of expression, religion, assembly and the press; the right
to bear arms; not to be a witness against oneself, to due process, to a speedy trial, to confront
your accuser, and to a trial by jury; protection against unreasonable search and seizure and
cruel and unusual punishment. The Bill of Rights ensured not only states' rights were protected
but also that the government could not restrict those inherent and unalienable rights and
freedoms that every person has. The ten amendments, limiting governmental power, were
called "The Bill of Rights" and ratified on December 15, 1791.
Fourteen original copies of the twelve proposed amendments to the United States constitution
were prepared by three federal clerks in 1789. On September 25, 1789 after Congress ratified
the first ten amendments, a copy of the Bill of Rights was sent to each state. After North
Carolina ratified the Bill of Rights, the original document was housed in the state's archives in
Raleigh.
In 1865, a Union infantryman broke into the state archives and stole documents including the
Bill of Rights. The Union soldier took the Bill of Rights to Ohio, where he pawned it. The
document briefly resurfaced in the 1920's. The Bill of Rights was then acquired by an antique
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collector who was a regular participant on the PBS television show, "Antiques Roadshow". The
collector told potential buyers that the document could not be traced back to any state. He later
tried to sell it to the National Constitutional Center in Philadelphia. The National Constitutional
Center authenticated the document had been prepared by one of the three federal clerks.
Mike Easley, the then Governor of North Carolina, along with the U.S. Attorney General, worked
with the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") to get the document back. After an FBI sting
involving $4 million in 2007, North Carolina's original copy of the Bill of Rights was returned to
the state. Four of the original 13 states' copies of the Bills of Rights are still missing (Georgia,
New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania).
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with considering the
proclamation.
SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: The following Orange County Social Justice Goals are applicable
to this item:
• GOAL: FOSTER A COMMUNITY CULTURE THAT REJECTS OPPRESSION AND
INEQUITY. The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of
race or color; religious or philosophical beliefs; sex, gender or sexual orientation;
national origin or ethnic background; age; military service; disability; and familial,
residential or economic status.
• GOAL: ENABLE FULL CIVIC PARTICIPATION. Ensure that Orange County residents
are able to engage government through voting and volunteering by eliminating disparities
in participation and barriers to participation.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board adopt the Proclamation
regarding Bill of Rights Day and authorize the Chair to sign the Proclamation.
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 3
PROCLAMATION
BILL OF RIGHTS DAY
DECEMBER 15, 2017
WHEREAS, on December 15, 2017 the necessary states ratified the first ten
amendments to the United States Constitution, called the Bill of Rights; and
Whereas, the Bill of Rights protects every person in the United States of America from
the infringement of basic human and civil rights; and
WHEREAS, it was the North Carolina convention, held in Hillsborough, which was
instrumental regarding the inclusion of a Bill of Rights as part of ratifying the United States
Constitution; and
WHEREAS, the amendments to the Constitution are a safeguard that the County will
never succumb to the tyranny it has fought against and ensure the principles found in the
Constitution will continue to be guaranteed; and
WHEREAS, those principles of equality, liberty and justice have been carried forward 226
years as each generation continues to work on "perfecting our Nation"; and
WHEREAS, the same fundamental belief in the principles of this Nation that propelled
James Madison to insist on the amendments to the Constitution must be the same spark that
inspires us to defend these principles today; and
WHEREAS, on the 225th Anniversary of the Bill of Rights, former President Barack
Obama proclaimed, "if we are to ensure the sacred ideals embodied in the Bill of Rights are
afforded to everyone, each generation must do what those who came before them have done
and recommit to holding fast to our values and protecting these freedoms" that "progress was
never inevitable, and as long as people remain willing to fight for justice, we can work to swing
open more doors of opportunity and carry forward a vision of liberty and equality for generations
to come, and
WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners is committed to
"upholding the civil rights and civil liberties of all persons in Orange County and their free
exercise and enjoyment of any and all rights and privileges secured by our constitution and laws
of the United States, the State of North Carolina, and Orange County" as they proclaimed on
May 20, 2003 in "A Resolution Regarding the Protection of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties";
NOW, THEREFORE do we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, hereby
proclaim December 15, 2017 as "Bill of Rights Day" in Orange County and commend this
observe to all residents.
This the 12th day of December 2017.
Mark Dorosin, Chair
Orange County Board of Commissioners