Residence hall dedication pays tribute to a founding father

The first federally mandated Constitution Day was marked in a distinctive fashion at UD, with a ceremony that included a ribbon-cutting to dedicate George Read Hall, named for a Delaware founding father and signer of both the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

The Sept. 17 gathering took place between the north and south wings of George Read Hall, the University's newest, state-of-the-art residence hall, located on the Laird Campus. Students, faculty and administrators came together to observe the occasion and hear remarks by UD President David P. Roselle and a talk by Jonathan Russ, UD assistant professor of history, who paid tribute to Read.

"We gather this morning to celebrate this beautiful new University residence hall; to honor one of our first alumni, George Read, for whom this building is named; and to mark the nation's first federally recognized Constitution Day, established to honor our government's founding document," Roselle said.

Before introducing Russ, Roselle thanked Ayers/Saint/Gross, the architectural firm; Whiting-Turner, the construction management firm; and the several trade contract firms who completed the project in less than 15 months, in time for the start of the fall semester. More than 500 students live in the new residence hall.

Russ took the podium then, saying, "Harvard. Yale. Princeton. Dartmouth. Penn. Great schools, all, with reputations for academic excellence throughout their histories. And yet, none of them can boast what we here at the University of Delaware can. Indeed, we have as part of our legacy a man whose witness to our nation's birth is so unique that no other institution of higher learning in the United States can lay claim to such an individual. That man was George Read."

Russ noted that Read was one of only six men to have signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution "and the only one of those to have secured an advanced, formal education in Colonial America." He spoke of Read's education, career and early connection with UD, which "began at the age of 10, when, in 1743, he came to the Rev. Francis Alison's newly opened academy that eventually became the University of Delaware."

Read went on to open his own law practice at age 20 and was named attorney general of Delaware's three counties by the time he turned 30.

"It was a prestigious appointment that brought with it security, deference and a prominent place in his community," Russ explained. "Nevertheless, Read was not afraid to risk all of this and to speak out against English authority when he thought a matter merited such voice."

Russ recounted Read's role in the 1765 Stamp Act Congress, a body that gathered to protest new English taxes that had been imposed upon the Colonists.

"It was because of Read's very success in the Stamp Act Congress that his fellow Delawareans elected him as a representative to the Continental Congress that gathered in Philadelphia for the first time in 1774," Russ said. "And, it was this body that drew up the Declaration of Independence in 1776."

Russ said the circumstances of Read's signing the Declaration of Independence again showed his "principled character." Read initially opposed the measure, Russ said.

"He believed that all attempts at peaceful reconciliation between the Colonies and the royal authorities should be exhausted before plunging into war, and feared that perhaps there remained unexplored avenues for peace," Russ said. "Moreover, as a legal matter, he believed that perhaps a functioning government should be created before announcing the new birth of the new nation. Therefore, it was only after long, careful consideration that Read concluded independence was the proper course of action."

Read's sense of fairness also played a key role in drafting the Constitution, Russ said, as well as in establishing protection for the rights of small states.

"He was particularly concerned that smaller states, like Delaware, have adequate power in the new government, and thus argued passionately in favor of equal representation for all the states in the U.S. Senate."

"His was a remarkable life," Russ concluded, "and it is indeed fitting that this grand structure be named in his honor. In the years to come, thousands of students will call this building home. To be sure, it will be a temporary home for them, but a home that exists in a state and in a country that was shaped by the efforts of this man, George Read."

Constitution Day was established by Congress in December 2004 as a day to be observed each Sept. 17 by all federally funded educational institutions

–Becca Hutchinson