Highlights of Vice President Joe Biden's James R. Soles Lecture on the Constitution and Citizenship
Excerpts of Vice President Biden remarks at University of Delaware's Mitchell Hall Sept. 16, 2011.
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Vice President Joe Biden delivered the inaugural James R. Soles Lecture on the Constitution and Citizenship Friday at UD's Mitchell Hall. His theme was how the genius of the Constitution is the document's ability to not just withstand, but encourage debate in the political process while simultaneously providing the framework needed to shape that debate into compromise and consensus.
"The true accomplishment of our founders was not that they spoke with one voice but rather that out of many voices they forged a compact that has steered our nation safely through more than two centuries of incredible challenges and change, making us the oldest democracy in the world," said Biden.
The James R. Soles Lecture will be scheduled to be sponsored annually by the UD Department of Political Science and International Relations to recognize Constitution Day, the anniversary of the approval of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787. The lecture is names in honor of the late UD Alumni Professor Emeritus Jim Soles.