Keeping the Republic

A More Perfect Union of Higher and Popular Education

As Benjamin Franklin departed the Constitutional Convention of 1787, a group of citizens approached him on the streets of Philadelphia to ask what type of government delegates had given the new nation. Penn’s founder replied, "A republic," adding as a pungent afterthought, "if you can keep it."

Dubbed "Sage of the Constitutional Convention," the 81 year-old Franklin understood that the framers could not establish democratic government once and for all. Democracy, he knew, is an ongoing experiment that requires more than a set of laws scrawled on a four-page document in the name of "we the people." Franklin charged these new citizens directly–and us indirectly–with maintaining, through understanding and thoughtful participation, the democratic republic he helped found.

Americans, it seems, agree with Franklin–sort of. A recent survey found that 87 percent believe our system of government depends on active and informed citizens, and 91 percent affirm that the Constitution of the United States is important to them. Still, more than half are unfamiliar with even rudimentary facts about American governance like how many members make up the U.S. Senate. Only six percent can name the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment, and almost a quarter cannot name one of those rights. A second survey showed that more American teenagers can name the Three Stooges than can name the three branches of government. In our civil religion, as in our sacred ones, the gap between piety and practice is often a formidable one.

College Dean Rick Beeman, an authority on Constitutional history, has been at Penn for over 30 years and has frequently served as an expert resource for the City of Philadelphia. "I have lived through the bicentennial of the Revolution in 1976 and the bicentennial of the Constitution in 1987," he observes in less sanguine moments, "and I have watched with generally depressed feelings the failure of the public to engage meaningfully with the role of this city and with the history of the republic."

More than smug criticism, Beeman construes this observation as demanding from him a response that engages his fundamental vocation as educator. Seeking federal funds to build a Constitution Center in Philadelphia, he testified before Congress that "We cannot afford the luxury of ignorance or apathy today, any more than we could at any other critical time in the nation’s past."

The National Constitution Center was created by an act of Congress in 1988. A structure to house it will be built on Independence Mall near the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, the edifice where the Second Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence and where the Constitutional Congress crafted the new nation’s blueprint for governance eleven years later. Groundbreaking for the NCC museum is scheduled for Constitution Day, September 17, 2000, with an official opening slated for two years later.

Early on, Beeman recognized the educational potential of the NCC and the importance of getting Penn involved in its conception and design. "I’ve often been involved in these sorts of encounters between the academy and the public in matters of the history of the Constitution," he says. "The more I got involved [in this project], the more I realized it had tremendous potential, if only the leadership could define their educational mission." Previously, the leadership group had focused mainly on fund-raising for the building; Beeman encouraged them to convene a group of distinguished scholars who could help them think about what would go on inside.

The scholars met among themselves but also with exhibit designers and technicians to explore how to translate scholarship into an interactive program for the public. That group evolved into the Senior Advisors Panel made up of historians, political scientists, museum professionals, journalists, political commentators, and two Supreme Court justices. The panel, chaired by a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, continues to offer criticism and recommendations on the themes and interpretive framework for the developing exhibits.

Beeman then approached President Judith Rodin, C’66, suggesting that a partnership between Penn and the NCC would benefit both institutions. With the strong backing of the president, Penn invested a range of resources, including the development of teaching materials on the Constitution by the Graduate School of Education and consulting on design and site planning by the Graduate School of Fine Arts. The Law School has helped design and provide intellectual support for the NCC website <http://www.constitutioncenter.org>.

Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, C’65, decided the NCC was so important for the city and the nation that he stepped in as chairman of the board, appointing a member of his staff, Joe Torsella, C’85, as president. Torsella is a Rhodes Scholar and former history major. Rendell asserted, I took this position "because I believe strongly that the creation of a learning facility . . . to reach and teach Americans about the Constitution and its role in our everyday lives is absolutely critical to the health of our democracy."

As an educational institution, the NCC will be an important resource for original research on the Constitution as well as a learning vehicle for the general public. Beeman was named the NCC’s first Senior Visiting Scholar in 1997-98, an appointment that allowed him to continue channeling Penn’s intellectual resources and to contribute his own Constitutional expertise in shaping the museum’s content.

Unlike a traditional museum, which displays artifacts, the Constitution Center will be a "museum of ideas." Remarks Beeman: "A lot of this museum is going to have to deal with how our history has unfolded within the framework of the Constitution, and another part will engage Americans in discussions and thinking about important Constitutional conflicts. It’s going to use historic political and social conflicts as a teaching device by getting visitors involved in debating those issues."

Beeman knows how to get an exchange of ideas going. In his courses, he engages students in memorable discussion by dressing up as 18th century preacher Jonathan Edwards and delivering a fiery sermon to the class. He also does Davy Crockett, complete with musket, buckskins, and coonskin cap, and enlists the help of an actor for a set piece on Thomas Paine. "There is no such thing as being too shameless, if the effort to open people’s minds and engage them in critical thinking is sincere," he proclaims. "You can expect to see Rick Beeman in costume more often in my declining years."

Earlier this year, he was invited to Richmond, Virginia, in honor of the 200th anniversary of Patrick Henry’s death. Beeman has written a noted biography on Henry. As part of a three-day tour of sites related to the orator-statesman’s life, he witnessed a reenactment of the "give me liberty or give me death" speech at St. John’s Church. "It was fantastic," he enthuses. "I’ve written about that speech. We don’t have the full text; the actor did a very skillful job of constructing the speech. He was brilliant–it required historical scholarship and creativity to do that interpretation. It gave me a better appreciation of a subject that I’m considered to be one of the world’s foremost experts on."

His openness to playful and theatrical presentation is a valuable asset in conceiving exhibits that will be viewed mostly by tourists. To accomplish its mission, the Constitution Center must "educate and delight," says Beeman, a pedagogical notion not congenial to many faculty. "It’s an enormous educational challenge. Nobody’s going to come to this museum if it’s just a history or civics lesson. You’ve first got to get their attention, to draw them in, and then learning has to be interactive. The Constitution Center needs to be a place where Americans will be entertained and intellectually engaged."

Mayor Rendell cautioned that "a lot of potential backers want to know that this is going to be more than Disney." Beeman responds that using entertainment will only be dangerous "if we allow the process of delivery to overcome the meaning and the content. We won’t let it become trivial. I think the only danger is that it’ll still be too boring." The scholars who make up the Senior Advisors Panel and the designers are committed to finding a more perfect union of the two.

Although the museum is largely a work in progress, Beeman says it is shaping up to be a combination of "high tech, interactive computer wizardry" along with places where citizens can come together themselves to debate the issues. It will probably include a cinematic experience, perhaps a virtual Constitutional Convention, and Beeman hopes there will be plenty of actors presenting dramatic interpretations of issues and events.

Given the poor state of Constitutional literacy and people’s flagging participation in government "by the people," it seems a critical undertaking. To Franklin, government by popular sovereignty is a precarious institution, and its survival very much an if proposition. Beeman says that his involvement with this project is essentially "selfish": to extend teaching and learning beyond the collegiate classroom. "If the ambitions of the National Constitution Center are realized, we will be able to reach millions of American citizens to inform them–as we do the students in our classrooms–about the priceless heritage Franklin and the other framers bequeathed us."