JMU Student Government Association members joined forces with more than 160 Virginia middle and high school students to spread the word about the Liberty Dollar Bill Act, which proposes printing parts of the Constitution on the back of U.S.currency.

Building support for a liberty dollar

Virginia school children want to put the Constitution in the hands of all Americans. Literally.

They want people around the world to know Madison's blueprint for democracy. Their plan? Print an abbreviated version of the Constitution and Bill of Rights on the back of U.S. currency. The Liberty Bill Act proposes inclusion of The Preamble, The Articles and a list of the 27 Amendments - abbreviated and arranged to fit inside the green border of existing dollars. In its third year, the project is the brainchild of Hanover County Liberty Middle School teacher Randy Wright, his students and former students, who currently attend Patrick Henry High School in Ashland.

The JMU Student Government Association has joined its younger colleagues' cause. In February, the SGA voted unanimously to work for passage of the act, including sending a student delegation to Washington to lobby Congress. As part of the celebration of James Madison's 250th birthday, JMU invited 160 students from Liberty Middle and Patrick Henry high schools to campus for a Constitutional Cash Bash, a rally in support of the liberty bill.

"I literally woke up in the middle of the night and saw the Constitution on the back of a dollar bill," says Wright, a seven-year veteran civics teacher at LMS. "I ran it by the students, and their eyes lit up."

Sparked by a civics lesson, LMS students made a presentation in January 1998 to Rep. Tom Bliley, (R-Va.), who first introduced the Liberty Dollar Bill Act in the U.S. House in May 1998. The bill has been introduced into the U.S. House three times, last year garnering the support of 108 rep-resentatives. Rep. Eric Cantor, (R-Va.), reintroduced the measure this year, hoping his seat on the Financial Services subcommittee would get the bill into a subcommittee hearing - the goal of Wright's students today.

As part of their participation in JMU's 250th celebration, the middle and high school students presented skits on the Liberty Bill Act and gave testimonials during a rally in Wilson Hall. Timed with the rally, Cantor called the Wilson Hall backstage phone from Capitol Hill and spoke to students via the public address system, renewing his support of the legislation.

In the U.S. Senate, Virginia Sens. John Warner and George Allen have agreed to cosponsor a companion measure. The only difference in the new legislation is that, unlike earlier versions which focused on getting parts of the Constitution on the back of dollar bills, the new measures simply ask that it be put on currency.

Each year, Wright gives his students the chance to pick up where the preceding class left off, until the bill is passed. Instead of just memorizing the Constitution, his students are learning the legislative process through letter-writing campaigns and congressional lobbying. "The process has made us learn more because it's learning by doing," says Wright. "When the work you're doing is real, it tends to elevate interest."

Further interest has come from school children across the nation - from New Jersey to North Dakota. In Missouri, students at Festus High School won support from U.S. House minority leader Richard Gephardt. And the media has come calling, including USA Today, Good Morning America, CBS News, CBS This Morning, CNN and others.

"Our students have not only learned the fundamentals of the nation's most important document, but they've learned how government works," says Wright. "Our students know the difference between getting a bill introduced in Congress and having it discussed in a subcommittee hearing.

JMU Student Government Association leaders have put muscle behind their vote of support by networking with alumni and contacting at least 50 other colleges and universities across the country to support the bill.

"Regardless of whether the law passes," says Wright, "the lessons learned in this project dovetail perfectly with Virginia SOLs - including studying citizens' roles in the American political system.

For detailed history on the proposed Liberty Bill Act visit http://www.libertydollarbill.org./By Michelle Hite ('88)