Constitution Day is Sept. 17 and to celebrate the Baker Center is having a 
Constitution Day Essay Contest!

Attention all students – 9th grade to seniors in college! 

In an essay of no more than 500 words, respond to the following quote:

“I’m ready to wager my life’s meaning that what America will be remembered for 
in the centuries to come is the staggering achievement of taking different 
people from all over the world and building a great civilization.”
                              -- Sen. Howard H. Baker, Jr. 

Baker, H. (1980) No Margin for Error. New York, NY: New York Times Book Co.

Your written response may take any form you choose: agree, disagree, provide 
an example(s), propose an alternative viewpoint, expand upon this thought, or 
relate this in some way to our celebration of the Constitution.

To submit an essay, email your (.doc or .docx) file to: 
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Deadline for submission is September 10th, 2012, by 11:59 p.m.

Winners will be chosen in two categories (high school and college) and 
announced on September 17, 2012.
1st Prize:  $250
2nd Prize:  $150

For more information on Senator Baker or the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for 
Public Policy, please visit:  http://bakercenter.utk.edu

Rules for Essay Contest Participants
1.	A cover page should be submitted with the essay which includes:  author 
name, high school or college, grade/year in school, home address, daytime 
phone number and email address.  Do not include your name within the body of 
the essay.   
2.	Essays must be the original work of student whose name accompanies 
the submission.
3.	The contest is open to 9th – 12th graders in high school and freshman – 
seniors in college. 
4.	Limit one submission per person
5.	Essays should be submitted online, preferably in doc or docx format and 
be 500 words or less
6.	Essays received after the stated deadline will be not be considered for an 
award
7.	Submission of essay constitutes author’s permission for publication on 
Baker Center/University of Tennessee websites or in other written materials.
8.	Essays will be judged anonymously and the judges will be chosen by 
Baker Center staff and advisors. The decision of those judges is final.  
Employees of the Baker Center are not eligible.