The Constitution Center, a museum accredited by the American Association of Museums, awards the Liberty Medal to men and women each year and is the only museum to commemorate the American Constitution. That is where we are now. We are at 525 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - the National Constitution Center. Not to be confused with Independence Hall, the Constitution Center was not where the Constitution was actually written or signed. The Constitution Center does, though, hold one of the 12 surviving copies of the Constitution. The building itself is pretty modern, built in 2000 and not opening its doors until 2003. On the outside of the building, the words “We The People” stand out to visitors, for the words, as well as a couple …show more content…
more lines of the Constitution, are written on the side of the building. The idea for a building commemorating the U.S. Constitution was first proposed in 1887 but didn’t start actually taking shape until 100 years later in 1987. The building was designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, and they broke ground for construction in September of 2000. While they were digging at the site of the National Constitution Center, over one million archeological artifacts were unearthed from 2000 to 2003, making the find the richest find of Colonial artifacts in an urban area in America’s history. After a long wait and much anticipation, the Constitution Center officially opened its doors on Independence Day of 2003. An interesting fact is that the address, 525 Arch Street, was actually purposefully chosen. The numbers, 525, represents May 25th (5/25), which was the day the Constitutional Convention began. In 2006, three years after the Center was opened, it started to award the Liberty Medal.
The Liberty Medal is a ceremonial medal awarded to men and women courageous enough to strive for liberty for everyone. Some of the recipients of this honor include Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Malala Yousafzai. The same year as when the Center first started awarding the Liberty Medal, it helped launch the Constitution High School, a magnet high school specializing in American history and civics. Some of the perks of being at this high school include being in close proximity to Independence Hall, historical artifact exhibit presentations at the school, and utilization of the National Constitution Center’s human and material …show more content…
resources. In 2010, the Constitution Center launched two online programs: Constitution Daily and Constitution Hall Pass.
Constitution Hall Pass is a free lesson video series that explores American holidays and history. The series’ most recent live chat was regarding Earth Day. Constitution Daily is a blog hosted by the Constitution Center that hosts a smart conversation about the Constitution and current events concerning it. One of the hot topics on the blog now is same-sex marriage and whether it should be allowed or not. When we get back home, I know I for one am anxious to check these out online for myself! In 2011, the Constitution Center received accreditation from the American Association of Museums. This is achieved by less than 5% of museums nationwide! Imagine... only five museums out of one hundred are accredited by this association, and this museum is one of them. There is a total of 1047 museums that have been accredited, and that may seem like a lot, but it is out of over 16,000 museums nationwide. I think that is pretty awesome! The Constitutional Center is currently a museum and a national town hall. It also holds one of the 12 surviving copies of the
Constitution. Now talking about the inside of the building, the Constitution Center has many great exhibits to see and interact with. One of the center’s most famous exhibits is the Story of We the People. An interactive exhibition, it is made up of exhibits, films, photographs, rare artifacts, and hands-on activities. Some of the amazing artifacts include a rare copy of the Emancipation Proclamation and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s actual Supreme Court robe. If anyone didn’t know, Sandra Day O’Connor was the first female to be appointed to the US Supreme Court. This exhibition also includes the American National Tree, where you can use interactive touch screens to learn about 100 different people that shaped our nation's constitutional history.
In Mark R. Levin’s book, THE LIBERTY AMENDMENTS, he proposes amendments to the Constitution called “The Liberty Amendments” (Levin 18). His hope for producing this book of proposed amendments is to “spur interest in and, ultimately, support for the state convention process.” (Levin 18). Levin states he undertook this project because he believes the way that the Constitution, as originally structured, “is the necessity and urgency of restoring constitutional republicanism and preserving the civil society from the growing authoritarianism of federal Leviathan” (Levin 1). Levin believes that the Congress operates in a way that was not intended by the Framers of our country, and has become oppressive to its people in its laws (Levin 3). He also
The constitution is still to this day effective, it was the last constitution to be established. In 1778, the Massachusetts General court drafted a constitution and submitted it to their voters, but it was rejected because it did not provide the separation of power and did not mention anything about an individual 's rights. Then in 1779, John Adam, Samuel Adams, and James Bowdoin created a new constitution. Being ratified by male voters that were 21 or older, the Massachusetts constitution was practiced in
...nal Expansion Memorial. Inside the building museum exhibits can be found. It now currently is being preserved by them to remind everyone of a fine example of nineteenth-century architecture. (“Old Courthouse Architecture”)
More and more states became interested in these changes and decided to meet in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787. On this date the Constitutional Convention was held and the U.S Constitution was presented as a new plan of government that would completely replace the old system. This new plan called for a strong central government that would have highest authority on legislation and implementing laws. The federalist papers supported the choice to replace the Articles of Confederation and advocated for a strong central government. They persuaded citizens that this new form of government would build a stronger national unity and it would provide greater protection overall.
views one can take. The Constitution can be viewed as a "living document" or in
The Constitution is the foundation of our county it represents liberty and justice for all. We are able to live freely and do, as we desire because of the constitution. The constitution was, signed September 17, 1787 at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. It took time and many debates were held before an agreement was achieved in both the drafting and ratification of the constitution. These disagreements came with several compromises before the constitution was fully ratified on May 29, 1790, with Rhode Island being the last and the thirteenth. The First, challenge was the Articles of Confederation; it was a sort of a draft of the Constitution but was weak and inadequate. Second, obstacle was the Anti-Federalists fight for more
The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, 1787-1791
the National Digital Library. “The Bill of Rights.” The Library of Congress. 16 Oct. 1996. 2 Nov. 2003. http://www.memory.loc.gov/const/bor.html.
"Writing It All Down: The Art of Constitution Making for the State & the Nation, 1776-1833." Maryland Constitutional Convention of 1776. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 201
In the 1787, delegates from all states, except Rhode Island, went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to strengthen the Articles of Confederation in the Constitutional Convention. The Constitutional Convention, also known as the Philadelphia Convention, the Federal Convention, and the Grand Convention (from May 14th to September 17th), was a conference that reflected on crucial alterations for the Articles of Confederation. Equally important, the Constitutional Convention was the origin of the United States Constitution. Therefore, the result of the meeting would impact the whole nation, as well as the nation’s survivability.
During the late 1800’s to the mid 1900’s, the United States was tainted by the stain of the slavery era, especially in the southern states. There was a great prejudice against blacks and the white majority was able to prevent them from practicing their basic rights, especially the right to vote and the right to get an education. When people started to question why there should be this segregation within society, they brought the issues to the United States Supreme Court. These conflicts resulted in the Supreme Court cases, Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education, two of the most influential court cases in United States history.
The U.S. constitution is the foundation of our national government. On September 17, 1787 it was signed by the delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. ("The U.S. Constitution") By signing this, the Constitution replaced the first national governing document called the Articles of Confederation. Before it could be passed, it had to be ratified by nine of the thirteen states. Soon after the constitution was finally ratified, in 1791 the government decided to add the Bill of Rights to the Constitution. (Bill of Rights of the United States of America (1791)) After the Constitution was written, many of the great delegates or "framers" called it a miracle.
The Constitution is defined by Oxford Dictionaries as “the basic written set of principles and precedents of federal government in the US, which came into operation in 1789 and has since has been modified by twenty-seven amendments”. The Constitution was originally drafted in Philadelphia in 1787, a year later it was ratified, and in 1789 was put into working order and referred to as the new government. However some states did not conform as quickly and felt there was a “lack of specific guarantees of personal liberty” (Silberdick Feinberg, 2015). To address these concerns government representatives from state and federal legislature met to develop better transparency on the limitations of federal government and protection
The Libertarian Party was founded in Colorado Springs, CO in 1971, by David Nolan. Though the ideas of libertarianism have been around for thousands of years since Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching during the sixth century B.C. Lao Tzu advised, “Without law or compulsion, men would dwell in harmony.” (libertarianism.org)
My fellow citizens. I stand here today, December 1, 1787, to open your eyes as to what is going on around you and why it is happening. As you may have heard the Constitution was approved by the delegates on September 17. It was sent to the states for ratification on September 28. 9 out of 13 states have to ratify the Constitution before it becomes a law. Not all states agree with the Consitution as it is, consequently 2 opposing groups emerge: Federalist (those who support) and Anti-Federalist (those who oppose).