In 1987, We the People Get a ‘User-Friendly’ Constitution

The California Bicentennial Commission on the U.S. Constitution has a problem.

It needs a zoo.

Organizers of the state’s celebration of the 200th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution say a zoo would be the only appropriate venue for the debut of their mascot: Bison tennial Ben, a Walt Disney designed-caricature that combines the features of a buffalo and patriot Ben Franklin.

Although a mascot may seem far afield from the commission’s somewhat scholarly intent--to educate Californians about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights--it is only one of numerous ambitious and unorthodox proposals presented by the Glendale-based group.

Among its diverse activities, the group is selling thousands of Bicentennial gold and silver coins, T-shirts, bumper stickers, balloons and “We the People Means Me” buttons. It will enter a float in the Tournament of Roses parade and also plans a space-theme exposition center.

But while gathering support for these programs from powerful business trade groups, the commission has had to weather attacks by state officials and some of its own members, who say the state-created group has lost sight of its intended educational focus.

After championing the idea in 1984, state Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara) fought earlier this year to stop all 1987 funding for the commission. Besides disagreeing with the commission’s diverse activities, Hart and other legislators called for the removal of three commission members for approving the sale of what some lawmakers considered to be a racist book.

The scandal over the commission’s decision to sell “The Making of America,” a book that contains racially insulting terms like “pickaninnies,” became a partisan issue, pitting Gov. George Deukmejian and the Republican majority of the board against the Democratic majority in the Legislature.

Undaunted, the group says it will make good on its promise to put a copy of the Constitution in the hands of every Californian--all 27 million of them--during the next four years, including copies in Spanish and Chinese. If it takes some unusual methods to reach Californians--such as sponsoring a movie that puts founding fathers in outer space--the commission is ready.

“We’re using the same people who sell soap to sell understanding of the Constitution,” said Peter Paul, executive vice president of the California Bicentennial Foundation for the U.S. Constitution, the commission’s fund-raising affiliate.

“We’re trying to make the Constitution user-friendly,” Paul said. “We are responsible for 27 million people having some kind of Bicentennial experience.”

Blend of High Ideals, Hoopla

The commission’s blending of high ideals and hoopla can be seen in its largest planned event. On Sept. 17, California Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas will symbolically sign a copy of the Constitution on the anniversary of the original signing in Philadelphia 200 years earlier. The signing will take place at a celebrity-laden affair at Knott’s Berry Farm.

The foundation also is helping to coordinate speeches, parades, essay contests, concerts and fireworks sponsored by groups in 111 California communities.

It has developed “201 Trivial Questions” about the Constitution that are being distributed to a network of 39 radio stations statewide that are “Official Bicentennial Broadcasters.”

And it is sponsoring an “electronic town meeting” that will link three California cities by television and telephone for a debate on the future of democracy, citizenship and leadership.

Throughout the country, most states have named Bicentennial commissions, but many never appropriated funds. Observances of the Constitution’s 200th anniversary in U.S. towns and cities are taking many forms, from traditional speeches to more contemporary bicycle races.

Symbolic Signing

Key among the California commission’s program is the symbolic signing of the Constitution by what the foundation hopes will be millions of Californians. The symbolic signing, promoters say, may be enough of a stimulus to get citizens to actually read the Constitution and ponder its principles.

In California, thousands of Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and members of other civic and business groups will fan out to shopping centers, company cafeterias and entertainment facilities across the state to solicit citizens to sign copies of the Constitution.

But the organizers are concerned that Californians may not react to these historic and patriotic themes in the same way as Americans in the original 13 states.

“If you put on a tri-corner hat and get out the fife and drum here, people will think you’re nuts,” said Ray Edwards, chairman of Glendale Federal Savings & Loan Assn. and a trustee of the foundation.

Or, as Paul put it, “If you had a reenactment of 39 sweaty old men arguing in Philadelphia, how many of our children would be interested? But put them in space suits, and the kids will really go for it.”

So the California celebration will have a different tone.

Beach Celebration

Take, for instance, the big Sept. 17 anniversary celebration being planned by the foundation:

At sunrise, former astronaut Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin Jr. will plant a Bicentennial flag in the sand at Seal Beach, accompanied by costumed Bison tennial Ben and a live band, as a squadron of Air Force jets flies overhead. Aldrin will then be whisked by helicopter to Beverly Hills, where he will join a motorcade making the rounds of the city’s schools.

Then it’s off to Knott’s Berry Farm’s replica of Independence Hall, where Aldrin will be joined by “celebrities, dancers, movie stars and Olympians,” Paul said. One hundred resident aliens will be sworn in as new American citizens, Helen Reddy will sing “America the Beautiful” and, at precisely 1 p.m., a replica Liberty Bell will be rung for 200 seconds, simultaneously with a similar celebration in Philadelphia.

And It’s Free

The planned two to three hours of entertainment will be free to the public and upward of 10,000 spectators are expected. At 6 p.m. there will be a black-tie banquet there for Deukmejian, with tickets priced at $200 and $500.

These kinds of flashy events are what the foundation leaders believe is necessary to reach Californians.

“Who’s going to read a lot of 18th-Century English?” asked Paul, referring to the Constitution. “We understand how you want to get information so you’re not intimidated; so that it’s exciting and not boring.”

But that approach also led to dissension at the commission.

“A majority of the commissioners and staff were . . . inclined to the celebratory, publicity oriented events,” said Jack Rakove, a Stanford University history professor and an original commission member. He resigned from the board in April and has not been replaced.

Considered the Source

“I felt the whole operation had an L.A. quality--promotion, logos, publicity, Hollywood, and devoid of content,” said Rakove, a specialist on the Constitution.

“My own agenda was fairly modest: anything that would bring material relating to the Constitution to the schools,” such as speakers’ bureaus and teacher training programs, Rakove said.

“They wanted Frank Sinatra and Wayne Newton at the Hollywood Bowl. They wanted quiz shows to do Constitution questions. I thought that was inane,” he said.

Joe Caves, an aide to Hart, said in an interview last week: “We wanted more than what we saw in the last Bicentennial (the 1976 commemoration of the Declaration of Independence), which was a lot of fireworks. . . . We had hoped to add an educational component to the celebration, to reintroduce the Constitution to the schools.”

But so far, he said, it is “more celebration than education.”

Hold the Balloons

The chairwoman of the commission, Republican Party activist Jane Crosby, responded simply in a recent interview, “Rakove didn’t like anything that included balloons.”

Paul said the scholarly approach has failed in the past, so the glitter is justified. “Their posture is contrary to popularizing the program,” he said of the commission’s detractors.

Ray Kabaker, foundation vice president for communications and one of five paid employees, said that “while there’s a lot of flag waving, there’s an educational quotient to everything we do.”

One of Paul’s projects is a pamphlet that will be sold to banks and savings and loans. The folder combines a summary of the Constitution--for what he calls “people who won’t take the time to apply themselves intellectually”--with a market research survey. The customer is encouraged to complete the survey--and the symbolic signing of the Constitution portion--by the lure of being entered in a sweepstakes.

Some events under the foundation’s auspices will be academic in nature. One event, sponsored by the UCLA Asian Students Union, is a two-day symposium to explore constitutional issues raised by the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.

Many of the activities are aimed at fund raising.

Started Modestly

The commission started with a modest $50,000 state grant that was contingent on it raising matching funds from private sources. Since the commission lost its state funding earlier this year, it is the foundation, a nonprofit corporation, that is raising money and effectively running the show.

For instance, the commission’s executive director, Jeffrey Allen, is an unpaid volunteer. But he also serves as a paid vice president of the foundation. And the four current members of the commission share the board of the foundation with nine business and civic leaders.

The foundation’s annual budget is now about $700,000, with about half of that to be raised by the state’s savings and loan industry and much of the rest to be donated by California banks.

Although the commission is set to expire in 1991--200 years after ratification of the Bill of Rights--the foundation is already mapping plans to operate indefinitely: It wants to build a permanent educational and entertainment facility to espouse American ideals inspired by the Constitution.