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Philadelphia Plans Fourth of July Festivities

Aired July 04, 2002 - 14:11   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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now to city where much of America's history was forged -- Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was written and signed, but so much more happened there. CNN's Michael Okwu is at Independence Hall.

MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Authorities believe that more than a million people had plans to travel here to Philadelphia to celebrate the July 4th festivity. And we believe that many of them are coming right here to Center City, which is part of the historic district here in Philadelphia, what so many people refer to as the birthplace of the nation. One of the more appropriate places, perhaps, to visit would be Independence Hall, which, of course, where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OKWU (on camera): Rick, this is an important room, right? This is the assembly room of the Pennsylvania Statehouse, and important things happened here to say the least.

RICK STARR, PARK RANGER: They sure did. This was the meeting place of the Second Continental Congress. They began meeting here less than one month after the fighting had begun in Massachusetts at Lexington, and in Concord. So, they had a lot to talk about.

OKWU: I see 13 tables here. I assume they represent the 13 colonies, and specific players that we know today sat at these tables.

STARR: They sure did. You had people like Benjamin Franklin here, and John Adams was also here, representing Massachusetts. His cousin Sam was also here. Some people who would later attend the Constitutional Convention, which also met in this room, were here.

OKWU: Who sat back here?

STARR: Oh, that would be Charles Thompson. He was a long-time secretary of the Second Continental Congress, writing from that table.

OKWU: And the head table, just up here?

STARR: Head table would be used by the presiding officer of the Congress. During the meetings in 1776, his name was John Hancock.

OKWU: We've heard of him. STARR: Yes, he was the guy who signed the Declaration of Independence first.

OKWU: You know, you would think that arriving at an agreement to have independence would be a very easy thing, but in fact it wasn't, wasn't it?

STARR: It was an extremely difficult thing.

OKWU: What was it like in this room? Were they all fighting? Were the doors locked? Were the windows shut down?

STARR: They were sometimes -- they were meeting in highly secretive situations. The tempers here could really get out of control. Because just think of it, you have to make -- a question of conscience, should you break away from your own mother country, or should you remain loyal to the crown? This was something that each and every one of these delegates took extremely seriously.

OKWU: There was an important exchange, I mean, probably a lot of important exchanges between the players here, but one between Hancock, who was sitting at the table, the main table, and Benjamin Franklin, right?

STARR: Well, that's exactly right. It wasn't so much an exchange, but what happened was, after the vote for independence was taken, Hancock reportedly said, all right, "Gentlemen, the deed is done. We must all hang together," to which Benjamin Franklin who was always good with a quip at the right time, from the Pennsylvania table said, "Yes, gentlemen, we must all hang together, or we will most assuredly all hang separately."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OKWU: There are quite a few festivities planned for today, including a parade this afternoon, and later on this evening, a fireworks display. Earlier today, this morning, Secretary of State Colin Powell was awarded with a Liberty Medal. All of this, of course, occurring with a great deal -- or amid a great deal of security.

Police here in Philadelphia won't be specific about all the details, but they do say that they are working in conjunction with federal agents, and that, in fact, there will be more uniformed and undercover police on the streets here focusing on those particular sites that might be attractive to tourists.

Michael Okwu, CNN, Philadelphia.

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