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American Morning
Constitution Museum Opens
Aired July 04, 2003 - 07:14 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's taken 216 years. Finally, however, there is a museum dedicated to the United States Constitution. It opens today in, where else? Philadelphia.
Jason Carroll joins us from the site with a preview.
Good morning -- Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Miles.
Finally, right? It took long enough for us to get here to this point. But, as you said, this is the first museum of its kind dedicated just to the Constitution. Later on today, this place is going to be packed with people who are going to come out and try to learn a little bit more about the Constitution. It opens later on today to the public, but we've got our first look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Philadelphia, a historic city, home of Benjamin Franklin's house, Independence Hall, the place, people are quick to say, where the Constitution was signed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Philadelphia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to go with Philadelphia.
CARROLL: But slow to explain exactly what the Constitution is.
(on camera): What is the Constitution?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I've got to go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's being free.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's, like, all of our -- I don't know.
JOE TORSELLA, CONSTITUTION MUSEUM PRESIDENT: I am not at all surprised by this, but what we are is determined to do something about it.
CARROLL (voice-over): Enter the National Constitution Center, the first museum of its kind dedicated to the Constitution.
TORSELLA: You have the history of how we got from there to here.
CARROLL: Joe Torsella is president of the museum. He gave us a preview of what visitors can expect.
TORSELLA: Can you vote? It goes across 200 years, starting in 1765.
CARROLL (on camera): Well, let's see, are you white? That rules me out. No.
TORSELLA: Well, guess what? Surprise. In 1765, there were states in which free African-Americans could vote. And then this is an exhibit that lets you be sworn in as president of the United States. We designed that with kids in mind, but one United States senator asked me if he could do that.
CARROLL: Are you going to tell us which one?
TORSELLA: No, I can't.
CARROLL (voice-over): It's not just an interactive museum. Here, you will also find an interesting mix of artifacts: the ink well President Lincoln signed to sign the Emancipation Proclamation; the tools used in the Watergate hotel burglary; a butterfly ballot from the last presidential election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: James Madison, the rather short fellow over there.
CARROLL: And, if you're lucky, Benjamin Franklin, himself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the beauty of this document, all of my friends had a party, and was that we were all a part of that document.
CARROLL: The idea to create a Constitution museum was born back in 1887. It took more than 100 years, but creators say, better late than never.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
I'm going to sound like a teacher when I say this, but this place really does make learning a lot of fun. This is one of my favorite exhibits. It's called the Family Tree. Each one of the faces that you see here in some way, shape or form had an impact on the Constitution.
Joining me right now is the man you saw just in the piece, Joe Torsella, to explain a little bit more about how this particular exhibit works.
Joe -- take it away.
TORSELLA: Good morning, Jason.
Yes, as you see, the faces sort of float by and they live up on this tree, showing you how citizenship in America isn't about where we were born. It's about our commitment to these ideas. And whatever space you see that sort of attracts you for any reason whatsoever, you can touch it, and you can see more. This, for example, is Ken Starr, a name probably familiar to most Americans, although a lot of these names won't be. And he, of course, was the special prosecutor in the Clinton investigation.
CARROLL: Let's try another one.
TORSELLA: Here's another one, and this is another modern one, Charlton Heston, who is the outgoing president of the NRA, which part of the debate about the Second Amendment. So, you see, it's not just Supreme Court justices and presidents; it's lots of different folks and lots of different ways.
CARROLL: So, it's not just about men in white wigs when you come down here, correct?
TORSELLA: Absolutely not.
CARROLL: So, it's an interactive museum, and you're doing more to make this as fun as possible for the people who come down here, correct?
TORSELLA: Yes. And speaking of fun, here's a face you wouldn't expect. This is Mickey Mouse.
CARROLL: Mickey Mouse.
TORSELLA: What's he doing on the tree?
CARROLL: What is he doing there?
TORSELLA: Well, he's a great way to explain to everybody, kids and adults, how the Constitution sets up protections for intellectual property, like copyright and patent, which then results in huge economic enterprises like Mickey Mouse.
CARROLL: All right, and it opens later today at 2:00?
TORSELLA: At 2:00 were open to the public.
CARROLL: How much does it cost to come in?
TORSELLA: Well, there's about half of it you can get into for free.
CARROLL: Good, free.
TORSELLA: And for the part we're standing in, it's a mere $5.
CARROLL: A mere $5. Can you beat that, Miles and Heidi?
O'BRIEN: That's a deal.
CARROLL: Five dollars, you can come in and learn about the Constitution.
O'BRIEN: That's great. Now, we know what Mickey Mouse, Charlton Heston and Ken Starr have in common. I never would have guessed it. All right, enjoy the trip and take some notes for us and make us smart later, Jason, will you?
CARROLL: All right, take care.
O'BRIEN: Thanks.
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 - 07:14 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's taken 216 years. Finally, however, there is a museum dedicated to the United States Constitution. It opens today in, where else? Philadelphia.
Jason Carroll joins us from the site with a preview.
Good morning -- Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Miles.
Finally, right? It took long enough for us to get here to this point. But, as you said, this is the first museum of its kind dedicated just to the Constitution. Later on today, this place is going to be packed with people who are going to come out and try to learn a little bit more about the Constitution. It opens later on today to the public, but we've got our first look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Philadelphia, a historic city, home of Benjamin Franklin's house, Independence Hall, the place, people are quick to say, where the Constitution was signed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Philadelphia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to go with Philadelphia.
CARROLL: But slow to explain exactly what the Constitution is.
(on camera): What is the Constitution?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I've got to go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's being free.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's, like, all of our -- I don't know.
JOE TORSELLA, CONSTITUTION MUSEUM PRESIDENT: I am not at all surprised by this, but what we are is determined to do something about it.
CARROLL (voice-over): Enter the National Constitution Center, the first museum of its kind dedicated to the Constitution.
TORSELLA: You have the history of how we got from there to here.
CARROLL: Joe Torsella is president of the museum. He gave us a preview of what visitors can expect.
TORSELLA: Can you vote? It goes across 200 years, starting in 1765.
CARROLL (on camera): Well, let's see, are you white? That rules me out. No.
TORSELLA: Well, guess what? Surprise. In 1765, there were states in which free African-Americans could vote. And then this is an exhibit that lets you be sworn in as president of the United States. We designed that with kids in mind, but one United States senator asked me if he could do that.
CARROLL: Are you going to tell us which one?
TORSELLA: No, I can't.
CARROLL (voice-over): It's not just an interactive museum. Here, you will also find an interesting mix of artifacts: the ink well President Lincoln signed to sign the Emancipation Proclamation; the tools used in the Watergate hotel burglary; a butterfly ballot from the last presidential election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: James Madison, the rather short fellow over there.
CARROLL: And, if you're lucky, Benjamin Franklin, himself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the beauty of this document, all of my friends had a party, and was that we were all a part of that document.
CARROLL: The idea to create a Constitution museum was born back in 1887. It took more than 100 years, but creators say, better late than never.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
I'm going to sound like a teacher when I say this, but this place really does make learning a lot of fun. This is one of my favorite exhibits. It's called the Family Tree. Each one of the faces that you see here in some way, shape or form had an impact on the Constitution.
Joining me right now is the man you saw just in the piece, Joe Torsella, to explain a little bit more about how this particular exhibit works.
Joe -- take it away.
TORSELLA: Good morning, Jason.
Yes, as you see, the faces sort of float by and they live up on this tree, showing you how citizenship in America isn't about where we were born. It's about our commitment to these ideas. And whatever space you see that sort of attracts you for any reason whatsoever, you can touch it, and you can see more. This, for example, is Ken Starr, a name probably familiar to most Americans, although a lot of these names won't be. And he, of course, was the special prosecutor in the Clinton investigation.
CARROLL: Let's try another one.
TORSELLA: Here's another one, and this is another modern one, Charlton Heston, who is the outgoing president of the NRA, which part of the debate about the Second Amendment. So, you see, it's not just Supreme Court justices and presidents; it's lots of different folks and lots of different ways.
CARROLL: So, it's not just about men in white wigs when you come down here, correct?
TORSELLA: Absolutely not.
CARROLL: So, it's an interactive museum, and you're doing more to make this as fun as possible for the people who come down here, correct?
TORSELLA: Yes. And speaking of fun, here's a face you wouldn't expect. This is Mickey Mouse.
CARROLL: Mickey Mouse.
TORSELLA: What's he doing on the tree?
CARROLL: What is he doing there?
TORSELLA: Well, he's a great way to explain to everybody, kids and adults, how the Constitution sets up protections for intellectual property, like copyright and patent, which then results in huge economic enterprises like Mickey Mouse.
CARROLL: All right, and it opens later today at 2:00?
TORSELLA: At 2:00 were open to the public.
CARROLL: How much does it cost to come in?
TORSELLA: Well, there's about half of it you can get into for free.
CARROLL: Good, free.
TORSELLA: And for the part we're standing in, it's a mere $5.
CARROLL: A mere $5. Can you beat that, Miles and Heidi?
O'BRIEN: That's a deal.
CARROLL: Five dollars, you can come in and learn about the Constitution.
O'BRIEN: That's great. Now, we know what Mickey Mouse, Charlton Heston and Ken Starr have in common. I never would have guessed it. All right, enjoy the trip and take some notes for us and make us smart later, Jason, will you?
CARROLL: All right, take care.
O'BRIEN: Thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
