Center Proposed to Promote Study of the Constitution
Organizers unveiled plans Friday for a national center to promote the study of the Constitution.
The center will be located near Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, and the Liberty Bell, used to proclaim American independence.
If fund-raising efforts succeed, the National Center for the U.S. Constitution will be open by next September, coinciding with the Constitution’s 200th birthday, the organizers said.
The aim of the center will be to educate the public about the Constitution and how it affects Americans’ daily lives, they said.
“We want to provoke thinking about the Constitution, not so much venerate or commemorate,” said Craig R. Eisendrath, executive director of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and co-author of the proposal.
The center is expected to provide low-cost exhibits that will be displayed across the country, curriculum suggestions and aids for teachers. It also will host conferences attracting leading constitutional scholars from around the country.
The exact site of the center has not been selected.
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