It turns out that the City of Philadelphia is good for something other than multiple feet of snow and loud, animated sports fans. During a recent study of a treasured draft of the U.S. Constitution, researcher Lorianne Updike Toler discovered an abridged version of the same historical text at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. One of the Constitution's framers, James Wilson, authored the recently found document in the summer of 1787, “The Continuation of the Scheme,” and it seems to be his third draft. Toler reported that the document included provisions about the executive and judiciary branches along with other valuable, historical information. Although, the document appears to have been known to scholars, its whereabouts seemed foggy at best.

After reading about this significant historical (re)discovery, we couldn’t help but remember a similar story that occurred years ago in our area as well. In 1989, a Pennsylvanian purchased a painting for $4 at a local flea market. After he brought it home, he attempted to remove the painting from its frame. As he watched his beloved antique frame crumble, he soon discovered one of only 500 known original copies of the Declaration of Independence. This bargain buy and accidental clumsiness earned him ~$2.42 million.

We are only bringing this up today because with so much of the political banter and shady, behind-closed-doors negotiations going on nowadays within this Administration, we thought the re-discoveries of two of our most precious historical documents may be “a sign from above.” Perhaps, our leadership should pick up a copy of each and spend an hour or two reading about what this Country was founded on and what it is meant to be.

Resources:

• http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20100202_Early_draft_of_the_Constitution_found_in_Phila_.html
• http://www.snopes.com/luck/declare.asp

- The Philadelphians