LIFE LESSONS FROM THE
TRAVELS
OF A ROLL OF
PARCHMENT
The birthday of the USA —Independence Day—is celebrated on
July 4, the day in 1776 when the wording of the Declaration of Independence was
approved by Congress.
Let’s get ready to
PARTY!
Celebrations. Cookouts. Fireworks. It’s what we’ve come to expect as we
commemorate the 1776 creation of the unique Declaration.
But
the ideals it spells out and the rights put in place by virtue of its guidance were,
in fact, a long time coming.
Evidence: The worn and faded
document itself and the trials and tribulations the physical piece of parchment
endured before becoming enshrined as it is today as a National Treasure.
And speaking of National Treasure: Last year at about
this time we took a look at the seldom-seen back of the Declaration. (An
important message IS written in a mysterious way on its back; see it HERE.)
And in the process we saw that the handwritten “front” -- replete
with the autograph signatures of the 56 original signers -- is not the
pristine, sparkling icon we call to mind.
 |
| The original engrossed
parchment Declaration of Independence as it appears in the National Archive |
It’s
faded and barely legible.
So
how did it get this way?
TGIM sums it up for you.
And
in the process we’ll uncover a 21st Century Takeaway or two, OK?
In the beginning: The Declaration of
Independence was adopted in Philadelphia, July 4, 1776, and printed copies were
distributed immediately. These printed copies bore only the names of John
Hancock, President of the Congress, and Charles Thomson, its secretary. Not
until a month later the original document, inscribed on sheepskin,
was presented to the Congress for signing. Then this unique document was placed
in the custody of Thomson.
And away we go. Before the end of
the calendar year, the travels of the Declaration of Independence had begun.
With
British forces closing on Philadelphia, Congress moved to Baltimore, taking
along all its important records, including the Declaration, in a baggage wagon.
The
following spring all returned to Philly. But in the autumn of 1777 it packed up
again and fled as Redcoats occupied the city.
New destination: Lancaster, Pennsylvania
(briefly), then further west to York PA which served as the new nation’s temporary
capital for eight months until the British withdrew from Philadelphia enabling
Congress – and the Declaration – to return to Independence Hall.
But wait, there’s
more: Following
a period of nearly five years in the building where it had been adopted and
signed, the famed roll of parchment was –
On the road again. In June of 1783, to
avoid certain Pennsylvania-related troubles (not British), Congress packed up
and moved for a four-month stay to Nassau Hall in Princeton, New Jersey.
Later
Congress (with the Declaration) moved and met in both Annapolis, Maryland and
Trenton, New Jersey. Then, in 1785, it took up residence in New York, New York.
A wonderful town: In 1789, with the
inauguration of George Washington and the formation of a new government under
the Constitution, the Continental Congress ceased to exist. Its records were
turned over to the new administration with the Declaration going to the first
Secretary of State –
Thomas Jefferson. So for three years
the document was in the possession of its author. In 1790 he took it back to
Philadelphia for a ten-year stay while Washington DC – then called Federal City
– was rising beside the Potomac River.
In
1800 the seat of federal government moved to DC and the Declaration went along.
In
Washington it had several homes until, toward the end of the War of 1812, the
British again threatened the security of the document and it went into hiding
in a private home in Leesburg, Virginia.
When
the British sailed out of Chesapeake Bay, the roll of parchment moved back to
whatever building the State Department occupied. In 1841 it was put on display in
the Patent Office Building where it hung on a wall, unprotected from sunlight and
changes in temperature for 35 years.
In
1876 President Grant permitted it to be taken to Philadelphia and exhibited to
thousands of admiring Americans as part of a Centennial celebration. Many
expressed alarm at its poor condition.
On
its return it was displayed at the new State, War and Navy Building, a
fortunate decision since its old Patent Office Building home was destroyed by
fire shortly after the move.
By
1894 the 118-year-old National Treasure had deteriorated so badly that a
decision was made to lock it in a safe, away from the light, where it remained
for more than a quarter century.
Fast forward
(thankfully) to today. In 1924 it went on display again in more stringently
controlled and protective conditions. In 1941, after Pearl Harbor, it spent
some time in an underground vault at Fort Knox, Kentucky. In 1952, with great
ceremony, it was ensconced in a marble and bronze shrine prepared for it, the
Constitution and Bill of Rights at the new National Archives Building.
In
2001, using the latest in preservation technology, conservators treated the
documents, put them in new encasements made of titanium and aluminum, filled
with inert argon gas and put on display again, in 2003, in the remodeled
National Archives Rotunda.
So
– with July 4, 2012 a day away – are there life lessons we, as citizens and
individuals, can take away from the lengthy recounting of the travels of this
now-revered roll of parchment?
TGIM Thoughts:
·
Writing focuses your
thinking.
Getting the Declaration done was the result of fair and open argument and
debate among widely read, thoughtful individuals. And then all that was
synthesized by the writing talents of Thomas Jefferson.
·
When everyone “signs
on”
a thing has more power.
·
It’s the idea that
counts.
Ideas, really. Having served its
original purpose in announcing the independence of the United States, the actual
physical Declaration was initially neglected in the years immediately following
the American Revolution, but the ideas and ideals embodied there remained quite alive.
·
It’s the inspiration
and the act,
not strictly the text. The Declaration was rarely mentioned during the debates leading
to the United States Constitution, and its language was not incorporated into
that document. The Declaration’s meaning and its interpretation is not
evergreen or even clear (the understanding of “all men are created equal” for
example).
·
Celebrate
achievements.
Early celebrations of Independence Day, like early histories of the Revolution,
largely ignored the Declaration, especially as an object.
TGIM TAKEAWAYS: Great ideas, like
American Independence –
·
Take
time.
·
And
thought.
·
And
debate.
·
And
understanding
·
And
compromise and cooperation
·
And
risk -- sometimes great risk.
Our nation’s founders
knew this.
Most were among the most affluent Americans of their day, yet look at their
mutual pledge in the closing line.
Immense change seldom
happens overnight.
The creation of the document and philosophies and the individual mind-changes
that set in motion the American Revolution was not the product of
quick-and-easy agreement. It’s not a one day thing. It’s a living, ongoing
process that continues this very day – and beyond.
An Independence Day
Challenge for you:
Think about what the history of the Declaration of Independence means to us in
these “modern” days as well as the document itself. Then, I invite you, as I
always do at this time of year, to join the 56 original signers.
TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Make YOUR
declaration. To celebrate this July 4th I’m joining the signers of the
Declaration of Independence HERE.
Will
you, too?
We hold these truths
to be self-evident.
If we, with careful forethought and all due consideration, are half as bold and
committed as they, what might we achieve?
In
your quest for a Best Year Ever, we hope your Fourth is Glorious..
Geoff
Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing
8
Depot Square
Englewood,
NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com
P.S. What about that bright, clear copy we imagine? After the War of
1812, the symbolic stature of the Declaration steadily increased even though
the engrossed copy's ink was noticeably fading. In 1820, Secretary of State
John Quincy Adams commissioned printer William J. Stone to create an engraving
essentially identical to the engrossed copy.
 |
| One of 200 copies of William J. Stone's 1823 copper-plate copies of the Declaration of Independence |
Stone's engraving was made using a
wet-ink transfer process, where the surface of the document was moistened, and
some of the original ink transferred to the surface of a copper plate, which
was then etched so that copies could be run off the plate on a press. When
Stone finished his engraving in 1823, Congress ordered 200 copies to be printed
on parchment. Because of poor conservation of the engrossed copy through the
19th century, Stone's engraving, rather than the original, has become the basis
of most modern reproductions.
