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Dr. Elizabeth Kaufer Busch speaks to high school students about the U.S. Constitution on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, at Utah Valley University in Orem.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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Dr. Elizabeth Kaufer Busch (right) speaks to high school students about the U.S. Constitution on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, at Utah Valley University in Orem.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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A high school student asks a question during a forum about the U.S. Constitution on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, at Utah Valley University in Orem.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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When it comes to historic American documents, the Declaration of Independence gets much of the limelight — especially when the United States is celebrating 250 years since it was signed.

Also of great significance, though, is the U.S. Constitution, which, signed on Sept. 17, 1787, built out the framework of the nation’s new government.

With Constitution Day coming Thursday, the Utah Valley University Center for Constitutional Studies held its annual Constitution Day Conference Tuesday. Professors from across the country came to speak to high school students about the Constitution and why students need to know about it.

“The Constitution is what we have in common. We need a civic common ground,” said Constitution Studies director Michael Brogdon. “We need a set of principles and some rules that we all recognize as legitimate. The Constitution is the closest thing we have to that.”

Inside the Clarke Building Tuesday morning, Dr. Elizabeth Kaufer Busch, director of American Studies at Christopher Newport University, spoke to students from American Fork and Spanish Fork High Schools, and other high schools in the state, about the Constitution.

She told students the document was created with the understanding that the nation’s leaders would be imperfect. She said the American proposition has three core ideas found in the Constitution that protect the people against tyranny: equal rights; consent of the governed, meaning the people elect their representatives; and protective mechanisms, such as the rule of law and separation of powers.

Busch added that schools have a responsibility to educate students about the rights established in the Constitution, and citizens should know about them. 

“That’s why (public schools) exist, because a republic is the kind of government where we, the people, run it, and so presumably we need to know something about it if we’re going to prevent a tyrannical or dangerous government from emerging,” she said. 

A Q&A session with Busch afterward displayed the deep knowledge many students already have about the Constitution. They asked thoughtful questions about Busch’s theories on preventing tyranny and what their responsibilities were to maintain a strong functioning union. 

Brogdon said he is impressed with the students and teachers in Utah. 

“I think we’re mistaken to be too gloomy about our students,” he said. “Students today are no worse than human beings at any other point in time, no better either. Human beings are the crooked timber you have to deal with. A thing that our founders were aware of, right? They built a form of government to deal with human imperfection, and expected that.”