cities tour staff travel to oakland, california, to learn about its rich history. learn you are watching american history tv all weekend, every weekend on c-span3. >> each week american history tv's american artifacts visits museums and historic laces. a visit to the national constitution center in philadelphia to learn about the exhibit constituting liberty. our tour guide is president and ceo jeffrey rosen. mr. rosen: the national constitution center is a special place. if the only institution in america that has a charter from congress to disseminate information about the u.s. constitution on a nonpartisan basis. we bring together all sides and the constitutional debate that transfixes america.

you, the people can make up your own mind. we do that in three ways. with the museum of "we the people," a beautiful museum in independence hall. i'm looking at one of the most beautiful constitutional views in america, independence hall where the u.s. declaration of independence and constitution were drafted. and the philadelphia townhome. you can find his on c-span and also online at constitutioncenter.org. and the center for constitutional education. we are building the best interactive constitution on the web see you can click on any provision, here the best arguments about its history and contemporary meeting and decide what you think it means. today is a very exciting day for me because i have a chance to share with you our president george h.w. bush gallery which displays rare copies of the declaration of independence, the

constitution and the bill of rights. we are one of the only places aside for the national archives for you can see where copies of these three priceless charters of freedom in one place. what we have tried to do is tell a story. it's a story of the evolution of rights. in particular how the rights that were promised in the declaration of independence are implicit in the constitution and were finally codified in the bill of rights. let me set the stage by telling you about the evolution of rights and we can look at the documents and talk about what it means. what we have tried to do in this gallery is tell the story about the relationship between the declaration and the constitution and the bill of rights. pamphletritten up a which you can find online that is thrilling and completely incisive which is written by me in david rubenstein.

david and i were talking about the relationship between the three documents and try to encapsulate and set the stage by talking about their similarities and differences. here is the introduction. independence,n of the constitution and the bill of rights are the three most of the documents and american history. they expressed the ideals that the fine open we the people of the united states" and inspire free people around the world. had a they influence the next and america's ongoing quest for liberty and equality? they have different purposes. still, all have preambles. paul rejected by people of similar backgrounds, generally educated white men of poverty. most important confidence ration -- the declaration, the constitution and the bill of rights are based on the ideas at all people have certain fundamental and inherent rights that the governments are rated to protect. they are fused together in the minds of americans because of her present what is best about america. they are symbols of the liberty

that allows us to achieve success and a quality that ensures were all equal in the eyes of the law." underline each of the three documents is a philosophy. is a philosophy of rights and of natural rights. what is a natural right? the framers disagree about many things with the agreed that all men and women have certain unalienable fundamental rights. us by thedhered to fact we are human. they come from god or nature, not from government. they believed that these rights could be discerned by the mind of man by reason. they talked about the same kinds of rights is being natural and unalienable. they talk about the right to worship god according to the dictates of conscience. they talk about the right of enjoying life and liberty and pursuing in obtaining happiness and safety.

and in particular they talked about the unalienable rights of individuals to alter and abolish government whatever becomes ends.ctive of these there was a theory of nature that the framers absorbed from philosophers like john locke and heroes of the scottish enlightenment. anton versus -- and thomas jefferson read these philosophers as did george mason. had the site him at his desk to documents. the virginia declaration britain by george mason and his own virginia constitution that jefferson drafted. what was the philosophy of natural rights? the state oforn in nature before he move into civil society we are adhered with these fundamental rights. woman move into the state of nature we surrender to the

government, or alienate temporary control over certain rights. the point is to ensure that are security and safety of the rights we retained. that is why we give the government temporary control violence,unishment of to protect our rights of life. we give the government the ability to regulate certain natural rights like speech in order to protect the rights we retained. there are certain things we can't alienate. i can't alienate to you my right to worship god were not because my religious police and opinions, my freedom of thought is the product of reason operating on my external sensations. that is why conscious is an unalienable natural right. thatght be the case government becomes tyrannical and menaces and threatens these rights rather than protecting them. it's breaking the terms of the social contract.

under those circumstances they believed people had not only a right but an obligation to alter and abolish government so it would protect the rights rather than threaten them. that really is the idea that unites the three documents. whichve the declaration bestdocument that is because of the claim of the king of england had broken the social contract that was threatening basic natural rights. you have the constitution which creates a frame of government energetic enough to achieve common purposes like taxing, for war, for regulating the economy. it's also constrained enough that it protects rights rather than threatens them. and the bill of rights itself which actually spells out the basic rights that the framers believed were natural and unalienable for the greater security and safety of ensuring the government is going to keep its end of the bargain. there is a great drama about whether or not to list the

rights it have to be protected, whether that was a good idea or bad idea. that was one of the main divisions that divided the constitutional convention. let's go inside the gallery and look at the declaration of independence. let's think about what jefferson was trying to achieve and how the ideals and promises of liberty and equality that he declared ultimately evolved through the constitution and ended up in the bill of rights. this is the george w. bush bill of rights gallery. the first document we see as we come in here is a rare copy of the declaration of independence. this is the one that was left to us by david rubenstein. this is remarkable about how this document came to pass. the copy of the declaration that most people think about is in the national archives. that was the one that the framers famously signed with said i will vividly

sign so big that king george can read it without his spectacles. that was his big signature. the thing about the document that is never in the national archives is even by the 1820's it was becoming faded. it was beat up. when dolly madison and others rolled it up to save it in the war of 1812 and john quincy adams became concerned that the original was going to face a much it would not be read. decommissioned in 1820 -- he stonesioned a man named to make a new copy them look more like the real thing that any other print. there was only one problem. stone came up with a rather cutting edge copying technique that involves taking a wet cloth, which was soaked in acid, and lifting half the ink off the original declaration and then putting it on a copperplate --

the result is of the original declaration is in even worse shape than the one that it originally was. this spectacular copy is pristine and looks even more like the copy that the framers signed in 1776 and the one in the archives. for those of us who are lucky enough to have copies of this precious stone declaration. 200 copies were originally made and sent out to important institutions and state governments. about 27 or so of these copies survive and this is one of them. let's talk about the ideas it represented -- that were represented. it has three parts. the preamble that at the time was not much attended to but now was become the most important part of the original document. it has a little section that thing -- listing the sins of the king of england in a section

declaring america will break free. sectionmble, the first that essentially contains the entire theory of american government in a single paragraph. if you want to understand the natural rights philosophy, all you have to do is return to the preamble. i can try to do it by hard but i will not. i will read the preamble. i was going to use my cheat pocketthis wonderful copy of the constitution published by the national constitution center. the second paragraph of the declaration of independence. " we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. ,hat's a secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. that whatever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new

government, laying its foundation on such possible and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seems most likely to effect their safety and happiness." there it is. note the language about the right of the people to alter and abolish government. that is the fundamental and unalienable right of elite -- revolution. you can't surrender because it ensures government will keep his end of the bargain and protect your natural rights rather than threatening them. that right to alter and abolish government was what the framers and signers of the declaration were exercising when they risked their lives, fortune and sacred honor for the incredibly risky move of declaring independence from britain and constituting a new government. that right to alter and abolish government we will see in the next document, the constitution, modified in article five that allowed people to amend the

constitution when it is to be changed. that is why the paragraph is incredibly important. the declaration is not only a promise of liberty, but also a promise of equality. that's the most famous first sentence of the second paragraph of the preamble. i can read it quite well because the constant -- copy is so beautiful. " we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created each that equal. that promise of equality was one that was -- one that jefferson violated in his personal conduct. he had and kept slaves and had an incredibly moving exhibit called jefferson and slavery. they came to us from the cello -- monticello. it sells the trace of his descendents of his children with sally hemmings and reminds us of vividly the class between jefferson's ideals and his actions. slaves and thead

blight of slavery was one that divided the original constitutional convention and always prevented it from being ratified. but here we have this romps of equality -- promise of equality. jefferson's promise at all men are created equal was not vindicated until the civil war. it took lincoln's promise of gettysburg of a new birth of freedom. it's of the bloodiest war in american history, the battle of antietam were 17,000 member killed, 23,000 killed or wounded. -- post-civilrson war amendments to the constitution. the 13th of mimic to abolish slavery. -- amendment to abolish slavery. we have an original copy of the amendment also by david rubenstein signed by abraham lincoln. it's the beginning of the fulfillment of jefferson's promise.

the 14th amendment which guarantees equality to all persons and prohibits states as well as the federal government from the nine basic liberties or privileges or liberties distances -- the citizens. and the 15th of mimic which gave african-americans right to vote. altar and 150 in the next five years. we are commemorating, celebrating, and debating them at the national constitution center. we have to be reminded that the declaration was essentially a promissory note. jefferson offered the ideal of equality but it took the civil war, the astonishing sacrifice of life and treasure and blood to incorporate these amendments into the constitution and make a promise of equality reality. to look at andme stand in the presence of the first public planting --

printing of the constitution. this is an exciting document as well. there are several important original copies of the constitution. the one that was signed in philadelphia in 1787. it's now the national archives. there are engrossed copies of the first public printings. but this is the first copy that we the people of the united states actually saw. it's called the pennsylvania packet. it was printed in the pennsylvania packet newspaper on september 19, 1787. two days after the constitution was signed. the pennsylvania packet was a newspaper that was owned by john dunlop and david claypool. dunlop had a great gig. did thehe printer that original copies of the original declaration and the constitution. on the side he ran one of

philadelphia's biggest and best read newspapers. it was the" pennsylvania packet." it's all for fourpence. what is so exciting about this document is it is the first copy that we the people of the united states actually read and saw. that is why some scholars believe that this copy is even more constitutionally significant than the one in the national archives. the constitution did not become the supreme law of the land when congress proposed it in independence hall. it took the ratification and the assent of the people and special ratifying conventions to give it the weight of supreme law. an order to become ratified the head of the national debate. debated read and arguments like the federalist papers written by madison and hamilton ever publishes pamphlets and give justification for the constitution. there were opposing pamphlets

written by the anti-federalist. the popular debate was central to what makes the constitution our supreme law. that's -- imagine people clamoring to get this newspaper, wondering what happened in constitution hall. and seeing this incredibly plain newspaper. it's just the printing of the entire text of the constitution with a little bit of free ambulatory material. it said is signed by the president of the convention, george washington. it has a preamble that says the states, enlisting them individually, that this be sent out to the people for ratification and then there is a letter from george washington as well. you can see it on both sides. " are written like f's. we the people of the united states in order to form a more "efect union looks like

ftablifhed." just your er. imagine we are those citizens of philadelphia. know if they got it from newsstands or was posted on the street. they were reading it and trying to decide whether or not they would allow the ratifying conventions to approve it. why was the constitution proposed? after the declaration of independence, the revolutionary war was fought and the 13 colonies created a government under a document known as the articles of confederation. 1777 by the continental congress. it was drafted in 1776 and approved in 1777. explanation it was six pages long and contain

13 articles. there was a problem with the articles. it was to loose a union. as a result the government that resulted was not strong enough to wage war, to maintain fiscal unity, to manage the economy. during the revolutionary war george washington famously struggled to get the funds necessary to actually conduct the war. he was always writing to the continental congress asking for more money. under the articles of confederation the colonies are not able to avoid that problem of lack of coordination. there was unrest. debtors rebellions transfixed the framers. shays rebellion in massachusetts where debtors rioted and refused to pay creditors. in a large people like james madison that believed the first object of government was the protection of private property. madison therefore and others like him faced a day when a.

-- dilemma. they wanted a government strong enough to do the articles could not do which was to allow the raising of taxes for war and economic union. on the other hand they wanted a government constrained enough not to minister basic rights that they thought government was created to protect. this is the central drama and the constitution. how to create that balance. proposals different for structuring the government. aere were proposals to create unicameral legislation, or a bicameral legislation of two houses. that was the option eventually chosen, blending representations for the small states who got two votes in the senate with representation for large states never represented by population in the house. that separation of the house and senate was one of the ways that madison and the other framers

insisted on separating power to ensure that one branch to not become tyrannical and dominate the other. madison was concerned about tierney in the legislative branch. he saw what happened to state legislatures under the articles that threaten private property and refused to pay the war debts. he wants to constrain congress. in article one of the constitution, which enumerates congress'power he set up a government of limited powers. power is not granted, it is reserved retained by the people. the presidency is also spelled out, although there was less attention paid to the president by the negative branch and the legislative branch. and the judicial branch is created as well. at the convention towards the end of a debate arose about whether or not to include a bill of rights. anti-federalist like george

mason from virginia who had written the virginia declaration of rights that was the most important source of jefferson's declaration of independence had initially supported the constitution. but became concerned it did not include a declaration of rights, the government might minister's natural rights is created to protect. others refused to sign the constitution because it did not contain a bill of rights. james madison initially denied the need for the bill of rights on two grounds. he said it could be unnecessary or dangerous. unnecessary because the constitution itself was a bill of rights by constraining congress and only granting enumerated powers to ensure the government cannot threaten liberty. but he also worried the bill of rights was unnecessary because if you write down certain rights, people in the future might assume that if the right was not written down, it was not protected. that's why he initially said no.

the opposition people in the states who read copies of the constitution like this one in pennsylvania packet began to demand a bill of rights. several state ratifying conventions insisted on subsequent amendments as part of the ratification. as a result of this groundswell of popular demand for a bill of rights james madison changed his mind. it's one of the great examples of this pragmatic moderate flexible politician listening to the will of the people. in 1789 he went to congress and proposed a bill of rights. we will talk about the bill of rights and see one of the 12 surviving original copies in a moment. so now it is time to talk about the bill of rights. commissioned philadelphia artists to do

renditions of each of the 10 amendments to the constitution known as the bill of rights. it's a great parlor game. what do you think this one is? i never got them immediately. but this is speedy trial. in all criminal prosecution the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial. places in the constitution that spell out a specific dollar amount. this is one of them. you see a $20 bill. this is the seventh amendment, the right to a civil jury trial. the right of trial by jury shall be preserved. this is the goriest of our amendments. a is the eighth minute, prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments. with tasteful gothic vividness we have a couple of creepy punishments that are prohibited by the amendment according to this rendition. this is one of the most highly

contested amendments. the ninth amendment is that the numerator of the constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. this is the moment he put into answer that concern we talked about mom -- a moment ago. that people might assume if it was not protected. it says don't do that. don't assume this is a complete list. it may include other basic rights and these rights come from god and not from government. there is a lovely -- the 10th of them in balancing federal and state power in a form of -- this is lots of fun. center--ion we are about to go see one of the most priceless documents in american constitutional history. one of the 12 surviving copies of the bill of rights. 1789 georgef

washington sent 13 copies of the bill of rights to the states and went to the federal government so they could debate whether or not to ratify it. 12 those copies survive. this is one of them. there are two unidentified copies. at the national archives there are two copies and they are unidentified. this is one of those unidentified copies. for the past 100 years it's been at the new york public library. through a historic and wonderful sharing agreement the new york public library and the commonwealth of pennsylvania have agreed to share this priceless original copy of the bill of rights for the next 100 years. you can see here for three years and then it will go back to the new york of the library and come back to pennsylvania and will go back and forth with the precious constitutional football so we can share it and display for the public and as many of you as

possible can actually see the original. when we go in to see the original copy of the bill of rights there are a few striking things about it. the most striking thing for those of us to think of it as being limited to tenant and its is that the original has 12 amendments that were sent out to the states. james madison have proposed as many as 19 amendments. we will see that the first amendment that is written of the original bill of rights is not the one we think of. " congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech and the press." it was a minute that has to do with the size of congress. oneays there shall be representative in congress for every 40,000 people. if that in the past they would be more than 4000 representatives in congress today as opposed to 435. imagine that invasive would've resulted. that reminds us that the framers were centrally concerned about the size of congress in keeping

representatives close to the people. the second amendment that we will see is that congress cannot raise its salary without an intervening election. that the moment that was eventually ratified in the 1990's and is the 27th amendment. how interesting. they have to do with congress and its power. james madison was really concerned about abuses of power so the legislature. those that were -- those were the ones of her proposed. our first amendment is the original 30 minute. -- third amendment. although we should not deny the centrality of the freedom of speech, it was not the concern that was foremost in the framers mind. they were more concerned about questions involving congressional apportionment. we are about to see the original bill of rights and it will be dark because of the extraordinary rare nature of the document. we cannot put light on it. it is in case in an extra ordinary carrying case.

at this is one of the 12 surviving copies of the bill of rights. we see john adams signature on the bottom your he signed as vice president of united states and president of the senate. preamble and is a mentioned there were 13 original copies of the bill of rights. out to the states and the feds. 12 of the copies survived. eight states have original copies and display them. not appear to georgia, maryland, new york, and pennsylvania. it is being shared by new york and pennsylvania for the next

100 years. it was sent out by george washington on october 2. faded but still distinct. the question of how states get their copies back has resulted in amazing detective work. north carolina original copy went missing for a long time. it was returned to the state of north carolina as a result of an fbi sting operation that was engineered with the help of the national constitution center. you can read that in a book called lost rights. we are proud and excited to be displaying this copy in our great partners at the new york public library. a was an amazing example of collaboration to get this here where it was safe to display. this document is encased in an elaborate carrying case, filled

with argon gas. it maintains perfect humidity conditions. behind this beautiful carrying case is a room that has perfect humidity control. if anything happened to the case, the documents humidity would be preserved in the back room. it is being presented according to rigorous preservation standards and we are excited and honored to be a student to this historical document moving forward. century to from 18th the 21st century. this interactive display is my favorite part of this entire exhibit because you, the people, engage online as well as at the constitution center. it is called writing >>.

it is the leading database that collects global constitution with the fee money provided by google ideas. this interactive that was constitute an zack elkins who teaches at the university of texas in austin. it allows you to do two things. you can trace the sources of the bill of rights. jefferson and madison drew on in writing the declaration of independence and bill of rights. the spread ofrace each liberty in the bill of rights across the globe, and compare how constitutions around the world protect liberty. watch visitors at the constitution center engaging with this.

the billhe sources of of rights. i can spend hours playing with it. the first document resources of the bill of rights. mason'sdrew on george virginia declaration which inspired thomas jefferson. let's look at the amendments that madison opposed that were not adopted. his first proposal talks about natural rights. vested in originally the people. talks about the need for government to protect natural rights. it says the people have in a available rights to reform or change government. mistakes us back to the original declaration and reminds of of the neutrality to establish and abolish government.

the second proposal is what we talked about. it appears in the original bill of rights in the first amendment. that is the one that says there has to be one representative in congress for every 40,000 inhabitants. medicines third proposal, this is the one he felt most important -- his favorite amendment. no speech shall violate the equal rights of conscious, the freedom of press, it prevents states and federal government common lawing basic, rights. the original bill of rights only binds the federal government. it did not prevent states from making these laws. madison would have presented that prevented the states -- his was not adopted. took the civil war and the fourth amendment to incorporate the original bill of rights and force the state as well as the federal government to respect basic privileges and natural rights that madison intended.

--icines final proposal madison's final proposal says they cannot exercise the powers of the other. he won two separate powers to protect liberty. this is his amendment. the second amendment. drafted all of the amendments you was not making them up. this is cutting and pasting among revolutionary constitutions that were adopted between 1776 when the declaration was passed and 1787 when the constitution was finished. there is is a big debate about whether it protects an individual or a collective right. we'll see that most of the state versions of the second amendment talk about it as a collective right. there was a concern that federal

armies shall not displace state militias. militia, proper national defense in the free state -- a talks but standing armies being dangerous. one of the revolutionary era aboutations -- they talk this as individual rights. beloved right to bear arms in the defense of themselves. madison first proposed the second amendment he phrased it as a collective over individual right. you can see the language changing as it moves through congress. and well regulated militia language is already adopted by the house. it involves further into the second amendment that we know today. you can make up your own mind about whether the pencil -- the

pennsylvania statement by it self suggests the right is an individual right. during the civil war many more states treat -- conceive of the right to defend yourself. it was a remarkable tool. you can pick any amendment that you like, look at it. rights of conscience and speech as a natural right. you can look up george mason's declaration which mentions the virginia declaration and see how the free exercise looks so much like ours. match. see the language our first amendment came from virginia.

that's the first exciting thing you can do with this interactive tool. take anywhere in the bill of rights and compare its treatment to constitutions around the globe. look at this example. there is a debate about the scope of state surveillance power. the fourth amendment says the right of the people to be secure in their person, houses, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures so not the violated. yellow areries in countries that have a version of the fourth amendment. let's pick japan for comparison. draftederal macarthur the japanese constitution after world war ii, he cut and pasted the american fourth amendment and stuck it in their. japanesehe text of the search and seizure provision is

almost exactly like the american one here it -- like the american one. matches and you can see how specifically macarthur true on the american experience. if you were to click on say russia, you can see their fourth amendment is nothing like ours. federal law can establish cases, it's 3% of content matching. it is incredible. pick whatever right you like. there is a debate about free speech around the world. this amendment the checks free speech. france is going to rate remarkable debate about whether blasphemy can be protected and free speech criminalized.

declaration of human rights of 1789 says the free communication of ideas and opinions as one of the most precious rights of man. france, like most of europe, regulates hate speech and offenses of dignity more than in the american tradition. there is a huge debate about whether europe should adopt a right to be forgotten on the internet, allows people to delete embarrassing information about themselves. in america you cannot do that because of the first amendment. if you cooker on the european protection for -- if you click around the european protection thatree speech you can see the free expression provision becauseless unequivocal they come from a different tradition. this is a thrilling tool.

it is exciting to see visitors comparing it with american provisions. seeing which countries have gender discrimination protections. online to constitution center.org and you will find this great interactive tool. study for yourself, there is so much to learn about the constitution, the declaration, and the bill of rights. and is an opportunity right, and an obligation as citizens to educate ourselves. it is important to come see the original documents and imagine what it was like to be with the

men of the time who ratified those documents. these are not pieces of paper. bills of rights are parchment barriers. spirit of liberty and the hearts and minds of people. that can only be cultivated by education. educationcenter for and debate about the constitution. you can educate yourself by coming here and looking at the documents. you can also go online, study, choose, compare. visit, learn, debate. historic, ande most important, debate. there are good arguments and all side of the constitution. when some of tells you there is a clear answer, there is not. you have a lot of learning to do. you have to familiarize with the text, with history, then you can

engage in the debates and make up your mind. thank you for being with you -- for being with me this morning. i am so excited to show this gallery to you and a like forward to see you here at the national constitution center. >> c-span takes you on the road to the white house and into the classroom. our student am documentary contest asks students to tell us what issues they want to hear from presidential candidates. to the whiteroad house coverage and get all the details about our student cam contest at c-span.org. the george washington book prizes awarded annually to enhance public understanding of george washington and america's founding era. miranda was awarded this year for his broadway musical hamilton.

ceremony held in new york city where we will hear miranda.lin manuel we will see a performance from the play yard this is about an hour 15 minutes. >> good evening, thank you. sker and i amm baa the president of the gilder lehrman institue of american history. it's my pleasure and privilege to welcome you to the 11th presentation of george washington prize. on behalf of the three cohosts of tonight's event. lucas, alsoara president sheila bair, adam .oodhart