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American Morning
Interview With Walter Isaacson
Aired July 04, 2003 - 08:21 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Former CNN Chairman Walter Isaacson has been studying the role that one of our founding fathers played in the writing of the constitution. His new book is "Benjamin Franklin on American Life."
Walter is in Philadelphia to join in the celebration at the National Constitution Center that we just heard from. Jason Carroll there, as well.
Walter, good morning to you.
Thanks for being with us once again.
WALTER ISAACSON, AUTHOR, "BENJAMIN FRANKLIN": It's good to be back with you, Heidi.
And I just saw Jason inside.
COLLINS: Very good.
If you had one word that would described Benjamin Franklin with, what would it be?
ISAACSON: Wise. He was the sage of Philadelphia. Of course, he was older than everybody here when it was time to write the constitution. He was twice as old as the average age of the rest of the delegates, 50 years older than many of them. And so it's easy to be wise when you're that old. But he was wise enough to teach them to be tolerant, to teach them how to compromise.
COLLINS: Walter, you also say that Benjamin Franklin was not America's "most profound political theorist."
Why not?
ISAACSON: You know what he was? He was practical. He was pragmatic. You know, he was basically a scientist and a shopkeeper. So he would say what works? What makes sense? And so you have all these Madisons and Jeffersons who really had studied John Locke and the Enlightenment theorists of Europe. And Benjamin Franklin would say, OK, that's great, but maybe if we take a little bit from this theory and a little bit from that theory, we can have a House, we can have a Senate, we can put it all together and it will work in a practical way.
So I think he was the most practical political thinker America has ever had. Probably not the most profound. COLLINS: Well, the constitution was written at a time of intolerance, though -- no voting for women, slavery was allowed. And yet the constitution has really changed with the times.
Is that why it has -- it is such a unique document?
ISAACSON: Well, one of the great things about the document is that it continues to evolve. Take the first three words, the most profound first three words you could have in a constitution "we the people." So we the people, all of us, get to help that document evolve.
As soon as Benjamin Franklin left the hall that I'm facing right now, Independence Hall, after they had done the constitution, his first thing he did was join the -- become president of the Society for the Abolition of Slavery. They started fighting slavery right then. It was the one thing they could not compromise when they did the document here in 1787.
COLLINS: All right, Walter Isaacson at the National Constitution Center. The book, "Benjamin Franklin On American Life."
Thanks so much, Walter.
ISAACSON: Thank you, Heidi.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 4, 2003 - 08:21 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Former CNN Chairman Walter Isaacson has been studying the role that one of our founding fathers played in the writing of the constitution. His new book is "Benjamin Franklin on American Life."
Walter is in Philadelphia to join in the celebration at the National Constitution Center that we just heard from. Jason Carroll there, as well.
Walter, good morning to you.
Thanks for being with us once again.
WALTER ISAACSON, AUTHOR, "BENJAMIN FRANKLIN": It's good to be back with you, Heidi.
And I just saw Jason inside.
COLLINS: Very good.
If you had one word that would described Benjamin Franklin with, what would it be?
ISAACSON: Wise. He was the sage of Philadelphia. Of course, he was older than everybody here when it was time to write the constitution. He was twice as old as the average age of the rest of the delegates, 50 years older than many of them. And so it's easy to be wise when you're that old. But he was wise enough to teach them to be tolerant, to teach them how to compromise.
COLLINS: Walter, you also say that Benjamin Franklin was not America's "most profound political theorist."
Why not?
ISAACSON: You know what he was? He was practical. He was pragmatic. You know, he was basically a scientist and a shopkeeper. So he would say what works? What makes sense? And so you have all these Madisons and Jeffersons who really had studied John Locke and the Enlightenment theorists of Europe. And Benjamin Franklin would say, OK, that's great, but maybe if we take a little bit from this theory and a little bit from that theory, we can have a House, we can have a Senate, we can put it all together and it will work in a practical way.
So I think he was the most practical political thinker America has ever had. Probably not the most profound. COLLINS: Well, the constitution was written at a time of intolerance, though -- no voting for women, slavery was allowed. And yet the constitution has really changed with the times.
Is that why it has -- it is such a unique document?
ISAACSON: Well, one of the great things about the document is that it continues to evolve. Take the first three words, the most profound first three words you could have in a constitution "we the people." So we the people, all of us, get to help that document evolve.
As soon as Benjamin Franklin left the hall that I'm facing right now, Independence Hall, after they had done the constitution, his first thing he did was join the -- become president of the Society for the Abolition of Slavery. They started fighting slavery right then. It was the one thing they could not compromise when they did the document here in 1787.
COLLINS: All right, Walter Isaacson at the National Constitution Center. The book, "Benjamin Franklin On American Life."
Thanks so much, Walter.
ISAACSON: Thank you, Heidi.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
