QHS hears Brad Wilson for Constitution Day speech

Posted 9/23/15

Quitman High School (QHS) students listened intently to QHS graduate (1987) and current president of the Wood County Bar Association, Brad Wilson, as he spoke about the United States Constitution.

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QHS hears Brad Wilson for Constitution Day speech

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Quitman High School (QHS) students listened intently to QHS graduate (1987) and current president of the Wood County Bar Association, Brad Wilson, as he spoke about the United States Constitution. The program highlighted Constitution Week at the high school.

Wilson graduated with a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M, College Station, and his law degree from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, and is now practicing in Quitman.

QHS Principal Cody Mize gave opening remarks and introduced Wilson. "You guys need to pay very close attention today. The Constitution is probably one of the most important documents ever written. It is something our nation abides by and strives to go by even to this day," Mize said.

Wilson gave a history of the document. "This document was written back in the 1780s and ratified by the states in 1791. It is very important to our individual freedom. I want to talk about the separation of powers doctrine and checks and balances. This was unheard of back then that one group of people cannot run the whole country," Wilson said. "The branches are the executive, which is the president, legislative, the congress, and judicial is the court system. Each of the branches has the ability to check the other two. No one branch can completely rule. It was an ingenious idea and it is still working today. It is still working today 230 years later and we are the most powerful and influential nation in the world."

Wilson said some of the states did not want the Constitution because they feared a centralized government telling them what to do. "They wanted to have some ideas and freedoms in place so they made a deal. That became the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. It started off with over 200 amendments and whittled down to 10. The first one is the most commonly recited, the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the freedom of assembly just like we are doing here today. It's all guaranteed in the first amendment."

Wilson spoke briefly on each of the first 10 amendments. He then talked about other amendments. "I want to talk about another couple of amendments which I think are interesting. The 13th, 14th and 15th amendments had to do with slavery. The 13th amendment got rid of slavery. The 14th amendment gave the slaves equal rights and the 15th amendment gave the slaves the right to vote. All three of those amendments were passed between 1865 and 1870 almost 100 years after the original Constitution. The 19th amendment gave women the right to vote. That was not until 1920 and that was 50 years after former slaves got the right to vote. The 26th amendment gave 18 year olds the right to vote and was not passed until 1971 and that was 44 years ago," Wilson stated.

Wilson left the students with one his favorite quotes. "Teddy Roosevelt said it's not the critic who counts, it's not the man or woman who points out how strong a man struggles, but what the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming. But who actually strives to do the deeds with great enthusiasms and great devotion who spends himself in a worthy cause and who is the best in the end and knows the triumph of high achievement. And at the worst, if he fails daring greatly so his place will never be with those cold and timid souls know neither victory or defeat," Wilson noted.

In conclusion, Wilson challenged the students. "When you get out, and even now, get off the sideline and get into the game. Do something that matters. A lot of it is just getting out there and taking the first step. Once you do, it all gets easier from there."