Constitution Day

Judge Marjorie O. Rendell gives annual address

September 25, 2007

Kristiane Koontz ’08, online editor for The Dickinsonian, interviews Marjorie “Midge” Rendell, a federal appellate court judge and the 43rd First Lady of Pennsylvania, prior to Rendell’s Constitution Day address at Dickinson College Monday night.

Judge Marjorie O. Rendell, who sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and is the 43rd First Lady of Pennsylvania, credits Dickinson College founders Benjamin Rush and John Dickinson with helping to “serve and preserve our Democratic Society” with their vision and actions.

“This college’s father, John Dickinson, was a man guided by principles, analysis, learning and experience, all of which were instrumental in the framing of our Constitution,” Rendell said in her Constitution Day address at the Anita Tuvin Schlechter (ATS) auditorium Monday night. “He was one of the first to resist British encroachment upon American liberties and independence, and was called upon to act as a spokesman for the colonies.”

In that role, Rendell said, Dickinson won his celebrity by speaking out against British taxation of the colonies.

“Under the direction of our forefathers, men like Dickinson and Benjamin Rush, our historic path was guided by education...,” she added, noting that others were “motivated by their presence to serve and preserve our Democratic society.”

Rendell presented Dickinson College President William G. Durden '71 with a proclamation signed by her husband, Gov. Ed Rendell, commemorating John Dickinson’s 275th birthday. The document featured a gold seal, she said.

“And we don’t part with gold easily in Harrisburg,” she added, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Rendell, who became a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1994 and was elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 1997, said citizens must remain vigilant to safeguard their rights.

“Free speech and the absence of censorship is as important today” as it was with the Founders, Rendell said.

In response to a question about how to address low voter turnout at polls, Rendell said, “We need to instill the value system early on of citizenship.” By the time people are old enough to vote, she said, “it is something that is basically a no-brainer because it has been instilled with them.”