By Z. Poe Doyle/reporter

Some might have come for cake, others for extra credit, but all received a lesson on the lifespan of America’s governing document on Constitution Day Sept. 17 on NE Campus.

NE history instructor Mary Kay Buinger, speaking on 225th Anniversary Longevity Secrets, compared the U.S. Constitution and those of other nations, showing several factors that have contributed to its long life.

“Other nations plagiarized our Constitution, but they were doomed to fail due to being based on our values,” she said.

The most important factor, Buinger said, is that the Constitution benefits from being a “living document which evolves.”

“Since 1791, France has gone through five republics, two empires and more,” she said. “Cuba, which drafted its first constitution in 1901, has gone through four since then.”

The primary reason our Constitution stands against time, Buinger said, lies in its authors.

“Its craftsmen, who consisted of the nation’s brightest, most politically experienced and heroic men like Washington, made sure that the minority would never be subject to the tyranny of the majority,” she said.

Buinger quoted former British Prime Minister William Gladstone, who on the Constitution’s 100th anniversary, said, “The American Constitution is, so far as I can see, the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.”

Each student was asked to complete a quiz on the history of the Constitution. Students Dan Walton and Abigail Blakesley, who tied for first, each received two $50 gift certificates to the campus bookstore.

The history and government faculty sponsored the Constitution Day presentation, which is federally mandated to be given at all publicly funded schools and colleges. Student activities provided constitutionally themed refreshments.