Welcome Remarks Independence Day Ceremony
Good morning!
It’s great to see you here today on the 246th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. And it is especially wonderful to be back in person celebrating on the steps of the National Archives Building.
Many thanks to Allison Seymour for joining us again this year as emcee of our festivities, and special greetings to those of you in our Presidential Libraries around the country who are watching this via live stream.
The Fourth of July starts here at the National Archives, because we’re the proud home of the original Declaration of Independence. In fact, it is right through that door behind me.
I have the distinct honor of working in this building. And I’m fortunate that I get to see the Declaration on a regular basis.
It’s truly miraculous that we have the Declaration of Independence here at all. The Declaration traveled around a lot before it came to the National Archives in 1952.
This parchment document was signed by our Founding Fathers in 1776 in Philadelphia. It moved with the Continental Congress from city to city: Philadelphia; Baltimore; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and Princeton, New Jersey. After the Revolutionary War, Congress met in Annapolis, Maryland, then moved to Trenton, New Jersey. From 1785 to 1790, the Declaration’s home was in New York City.
In 1789 the Secretary of Congress transferred it to the Secretary of State. The Declaration moved with the government from New York to Philadelphia and finally to the City of Washington in 1800.
When the British were attacking Washington during the War of 1812, a clerk at the State Department, Stephen Pleasanton, wrapped up the Declaration of Independence and other important documents in coarse linen bags, put them in a wagon, and hid them in Virginia.
The next day, Washington was burning. But the Declaration was safe in an unused gristmill near Chain Bridge in Virginia, and it was moved a few days later to Leesburg.
In the 1800s, the Declaration of Independence was on exhibit for long periods. In fact, it hung across from a window for over 30 years. Natural aging, sunlight, smoke, fluctuating temperatures, and humidity all took their toll on the document.
Eventually, the State Department removed it from display and stored it flat, where it joined the Constitution until 1921, when President Harding signed an order transferring both of those documents to the Library of Congress.
But the Declaration of Independence wasn’t done traveling…Just before the United States entered into World War II, the Declaration and the Constitution were sent to Fort Knox for safekeeping, where they remained until September 1944, when they returned to the Library of Congress.
Finally, these documents came to their rightful home here at the National Archives on December 13, 1952. There was a big elaborate parade where the Declaration of Independence along with the Constitution was escorted from the Library of Congress by military personnel and carried up these steps into the Rotunda.
After the ceremony, I invite you to come inside our cool, air-conditioned building and see the Declaration of Independence, along with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, for yourself.
A few reminders…
You can share your pictures and stories from your Fourth of July experience at the National Archives at @usnatarchives on Twitter and Instagram. Use the hashtag #ArchivesJuly4.
You can also add your own John Hancock to the Declaration of Independence at our special signing booth, inside the Boeing Learning Center.
And although we don't allow photography in the museum, we have made a special exception for our selfie station, where you can snap a selfie with one of our special historical guests.
Thank you for coming out for today’s ceremony and the Reading of the Declaration of Independence. Doing so reminds us of that tense and challenging moment that we faced 246 years ago. It is that revolution, and the nation it produced - however imperfect - that we celebrate today.
Now, I would like to introduce our keynote speaker. Rodney Slater is a Senior Partner at Squire Patton Boggs and a former U.S. Secretary of Transportation. As Secretary of Transportation under President Bill Clinton, he passed several historic legislative initiatives including the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st century and the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment Reform Act. He is the former Administrator of the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, former Director of Government Relations at Arkansas State University, former Special Assistant for Economic and Community Programs, and former Executive Assistant for Community and Minority Affairs to then-Governor Bill Clinton. And he is Vice Chair of the National Archives Foundation Board of Directors.
Please welcome Rodney Slater…