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CNN Live Today
Opening of First Museum Dedicated to Constitution
Aired July 04, 2003 - 10:06 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: As promised, we want to take you back to Philadelphia, where Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is now taking to the stand there, the first ever museum honoring the United States Constitution. Let's listen in.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... an historic occasion, the opening of this spectacular National Constitution Center.
JUSTICE SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR, SUPREME COURT: Thank you, Mayor Street, and thank all of you here today joining us on this absolutely wonderful occasion as we celebrate both our nation's birthday and the opening of the National Constitution Center here in the great city of Philadelphia. The Constitution Center and Independence Hall, together with the Liberty Bell, form a place that every American should visit. It will contribute each and every day to the reinforcement of the basic principles that bind us together as a nation and a people.
And Joe Torsella, thank you so much for your perseverance and for reminding us today that even Supreme Court justices make mistakes.
On May the 25th, 1787, right here in Philadelphia, a quorum of delegates from seven states met in answer to the call from the Annapolis Convention to draft what became the Constitution of the United States. The delegates unanimously selected George Washington as president of the convention. Eventually, 55 participants assembled here from 12 of the 13 states then in existence. And they met throughout that sweltering summer, behind closed doors to offer, consider and debate the provisions of a new national charter. Their efforts culminated on September 17, 1787, when all 12 state delegations voted approval of the draft of our Constitution.
Now, it seems natural for Supreme Court justices to be vitally interested in the document we spend so many of our waking hours thinking and arguing about. But it is perhaps not so natural in the 21st century for most other Americans to spend much time thinking about or discussing the Constitution. Although over 200 years ago, most Americans hotly debated the merits of the proposed Constitution, recent polls indicate that today almost half our citizens do not know there are three branches of government. Thirty-five percent believe the Constitution establishes English as our national language.
Knowledge about the ideas embodied in the Constitution and the ways in which it shapes our lives is not passed down from generation to generation through the gene pool. It must be learned anew by each generation. It's not enough simply to read or even memorize parts of the Constitution. Rather, we should try to understand the ideas that gave it life and that give it strength still today.
Alexander Hamilton, one of the framers, wrote in the first of the Federalist Papers that it was reserved to the people of this country to decide whether we are capable of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether we are forever destined to depend for our political constitutions on accident and force.
WHITFIELD: Well, you're looking at U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor helping to kick off the opening of the first ever museum honoring the U.S. Constitution. All of this taking place at the end of the National Constitution Center at the end of the International Mall in Philadelphia -- Independence Mall in Philadelphia, rather.
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 - 10:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: As promised, we want to take you back to Philadelphia, where Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is now taking to the stand there, the first ever museum honoring the United States Constitution. Let's listen in.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... an historic occasion, the opening of this spectacular National Constitution Center.
JUSTICE SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR, SUPREME COURT: Thank you, Mayor Street, and thank all of you here today joining us on this absolutely wonderful occasion as we celebrate both our nation's birthday and the opening of the National Constitution Center here in the great city of Philadelphia. The Constitution Center and Independence Hall, together with the Liberty Bell, form a place that every American should visit. It will contribute each and every day to the reinforcement of the basic principles that bind us together as a nation and a people.
And Joe Torsella, thank you so much for your perseverance and for reminding us today that even Supreme Court justices make mistakes.
On May the 25th, 1787, right here in Philadelphia, a quorum of delegates from seven states met in answer to the call from the Annapolis Convention to draft what became the Constitution of the United States. The delegates unanimously selected George Washington as president of the convention. Eventually, 55 participants assembled here from 12 of the 13 states then in existence. And they met throughout that sweltering summer, behind closed doors to offer, consider and debate the provisions of a new national charter. Their efforts culminated on September 17, 1787, when all 12 state delegations voted approval of the draft of our Constitution.
Now, it seems natural for Supreme Court justices to be vitally interested in the document we spend so many of our waking hours thinking and arguing about. But it is perhaps not so natural in the 21st century for most other Americans to spend much time thinking about or discussing the Constitution. Although over 200 years ago, most Americans hotly debated the merits of the proposed Constitution, recent polls indicate that today almost half our citizens do not know there are three branches of government. Thirty-five percent believe the Constitution establishes English as our national language.
Knowledge about the ideas embodied in the Constitution and the ways in which it shapes our lives is not passed down from generation to generation through the gene pool. It must be learned anew by each generation. It's not enough simply to read or even memorize parts of the Constitution. Rather, we should try to understand the ideas that gave it life and that give it strength still today.
Alexander Hamilton, one of the framers, wrote in the first of the Federalist Papers that it was reserved to the people of this country to decide whether we are capable of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether we are forever destined to depend for our political constitutions on accident and force.
WHITFIELD: Well, you're looking at U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor helping to kick off the opening of the first ever museum honoring the U.S. Constitution. All of this taking place at the end of the National Constitution Center at the end of the International Mall in Philadelphia -- Independence Mall in Philadelphia, rather.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
