Words of Vision and Revision: The Story of This Nation Continues to be Told

Words of Vision and Revision

ALEXANDER HAMILTON

The story of this nation continues to be told.

SUSAN B. ANTHONY

ROSA PARKS

Photos Courtesy of Library of Congress

JOHN F. KENNEDY

The Courage to Revise From the distance of time, great ideas can seem like a done deal, as if they sprang fully formed from the genius of a genius. The truth is much messier. No composer gets the song right the first time. No poet pens the perfect verse in the first try. No sculptor puts chisel to rock before honing the concept in sketches and studies. Yes, there is vision—an imaginative seed that takes root. But creation also requires revision—the willingness to refine and improve an idea. Great ideas expressed through great words can lead to great actions and inspire great works of art.

Similar thoughts could be said for developing a nation.

Creating most anything worthwhile requires the courage to revise— literally “to look back at”—and be brave enough to admit there’s room for improvement. For most creators, it is also essential to nourish a network of wise people willing to give honest feedback as well as encouragement.

Assuming the role of a civic-minded citizen is an act of vision and revision, in action as well as words. As times change and new challenges arise, resolute people must step forward to take what has been and revise it into what can be. For Americans, the guiding principle has been the fine-tuning of “a more perfect union,” as described in the preamble to the Constitution.

Here are four Americans who demonstrated the resolve to revise the story of the United States.

The Kennedy Center’s design represents an act of revision for more active, inclusive arts experiences for communities and collaborators. The original building opened in 1971 and the REACH expansion project opens in September 2019. This new campus will add 11 flexible spaces: rehearsal spaces, a learning lab, classrooms, a lecture hall, and outdoor spaces.

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Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804)

Courtesy of Library of Congress

Profile: Hamilton’s ideas, ambitions and efforts were fundamental in the founding of the United States. By the age of 20, he was serving on General George Washington’s staff as well as fighting as a front-line officer in the American Revolution. He became one of President Washington’s most trusted advisers as well as the country’s first Secretary of the Treasury.

His vision of what could be: A stronger central government and a greater sense of an “American” identity.

His revision of what was: Advocating for a new United States Constitution. In 1787, the Constitutional Convention was convened to outline more robust and specific powers for the national government—what became the United States Constitution. Under the assumed name “Publius,” Hamilton—along with James Madison and John Jay—began publishing a series of essays, now known as The Federalist Papers.

These writings proved vital in rallying support for the Constitution’s ratification in 1788. Hamilton valued the power of words and worked diligently to form his voice, inspiring others’ actions.

The title page of The Federalist from a copy printed in 1799.

[I]t seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force. —Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 1

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Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906)

Her vision for what could be: A country where women could not only vote but would serve on equal footing with men in government, society, and family life.

Her revision of what was: Amending the Constitution to secure the right to vote for women.

During Anthony’s lifetime, American women had little role in government or the public sphere. Anthony and the suffrage movement she helped lead viewed voting rights as an essential step toward ending this monopoly of men. Anthony confronted this injustice, in word and deed, including her arrest for voting in 1872. In 1920, passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution finally secured the right to vote for American women.

Anthony died 14 years before her revision became law.

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Courtesy of Library of Congress

Profile: Anthony was a determined advocate against slavery and for women’s rights. She was the co-founder and president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association that worked for decades to secure the right to vote for women. She spoke frequently and wrote extensively to convince others to support the cause.

Located in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, the portrait busts of (left to right) Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Anthony, and Lucretia Mott honor their legacy through Adelaide Johnson’s sculpted artwork. The yellow ribbon was worn by supporters at suffrage events, like parades and rallies.

It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union. And we formed it, not to give the blessings of liberty, but to secure them; not to the half of ourselves and the half of our posterity, but to the whole people — women as well as men. —Susan B. Anthony, speech after her arrest for voting in the 1872 presidential election

Rosa Parks (1913-2005) Her revision of what was: Confronting the systemic oppression of African Americans.

Her act of civil disobedience put another crack in Jim Crow—the system of laws, policies, and attitudes in southern states that discriminated against blacks. With racism entrenched in American society, the staging of nonviolent protests proved effective in awakening the conscience of more Americans. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act finally outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Her vision for what could be: A country where African Americans would be treated equally and fairly.

The U.S. Postal Service’s 2013 “Rosa Parks Forever” stamp honors the activist’s courage.

I had not planned to get arrested. I had plenty to do without having to end up in jail. But when I had to face that decision, I didn’t hesitate to do so because I felt that we had endured that too long. The more we gave in, the more we complied with that kind of treatment, the more oppressive it became.

The fingerprint card was taken when Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat.

From the National Archives Catalog

—Rosa Parks in a 1992 interview with National Public Radio

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Courtesy of the U.S. Postal

Service

Profile: Parks was a trained Civil Rights activist, fighting for equal treatment of African Americans. She is best remembered for her role in the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. Her refusal to give up her seat to white passengers on a city bus sparked a campaign that successfully challenged segregation and inspired other challenges to racial injustice. She became a powerful symbol of civil disobedience in the struggle for equal treatment before the law.

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) Profile: The 35th President of the United States, Kennedy is remembered for his ambitious and inspirational goals for the country’s future. A veteran of World War II, JFK served in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate before winning the presidency in 1960.

His vision for what could be: A dynamic society that would emphasize civic engagement, human progress, and justice.

His revision of what was: Rejecting complacency while harnessing American ambition and might to explore a “New Frontier” in human progress. He promised expanded federal support for education, the arts, science, international aid, and other programs. His proposal of “landing a man on the moon” embodied a can-do conviction that inspired many Americans as well as people worldwide. As a living memorial, the Kennedy Center honors his advocacy for the arts. As a living memorial, the Kennedy Center honors his legacy through the arts every day.

And our liberty, too, is endangered if we pause for the passing moment, if we rest on our achievements, if we resist the pace of progress. For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. —President John F. Kennedy, 1963 speech in Frankfurt, Germany

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©Ron Blunt

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Pages from the handwritten draft of Kennedy’s inaugural address.

Hamilton, Anthony, Parks, Kennedy— they and countless other American visionaries perceived dangers in standing still and accepting things as they were. It was not in their make-up to wait for events to force a reaction or for someone else to take action.

They thought, they learned, they planned, they built alliances, they acted. They studied the outcome and went back to work. What they did, said, wrote, and revised became a creative act, practicing and performing the art of democracy.

Photo by Michael Butcher

Eric Liu is an author, former White House speechwriter, and CEO of Citizen University. He sees an urgent need for Americans to revive that spirit of creative citizenship. As an activist and educator, he views a climate of cynicism in civic life as the foremost threat to justice and progress in the United States.

Eric Liu shared his expertise as a 2018 Summit speaker.

©Alan Alabastro

Citizenship as Creative Act

How we live as citizens is our art form. How we imagine, how we gather, how we invite people…We have more power as citizen artists than we recognize. —Eric Liu at the 2018 Kennedy Center Arts Summit By citizen artists, Liu means everyone—citizens of the world— who express civic-mindedness through art, as well as infuse civic life with creative energy—a mission championed by the Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellows program each year. Liu urges Americans in every walk of life to seize opportunities to share their visions and continue to revise and update the American story.

Citizen Artist Fellows convened at the 2018 Kennedy Center Arts Summit.

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Take Action

■ Online scavenger hunt. The Library

■ What is your vision for “what

could be” for the United States?

What will be your “revision to what is”? Share them at #kencenvisionrevision.

■ Hamilton penned pamphlets.

Anthony published a newspaper.

Parks took direct action. JFK informed and rallied people through televised speeches.

What were the advantages and limitations of each of these modes of communication? As a citizen artist, how would you reach people today?

Explore ■ D.C. scavenger hunt. Figure

out the connections between Washington, D.C.-area sites and the people discussed above: 1) The Lincoln Memorial; 2) The Treasury Building; 3) U.S. Capitol Rotunda; 4) Peace Corps Headquarters AND A) Alexander Hamilton; B) Susan B. Anthony; C) Rosa Parks; and D) JFK: (You may discover more than one connection.)

of Congress and its web portal are treasure troves of primary source documents and materials. (Go to www.loc.gov.) See if you can find: 1) Alexander Hamilton’s draft of President George Washington’s “Farewell Address.”

2) First issue of The Revolution, the newspaper started by Susan B. Anthony.

3) A flyer announcing a 1956 presentation by Rosa Parks.

4) A photograph of President John F. Kennedy presenting his inaugural address.

Explore the Library of Congress’s web portal to discover millions of primary sources that can spark a deeper understanding of American history and the people who made it. Find resources especially for teachers at www.loc.gov/teachers.

ARTSEDGE, a digital learning website within Kennedy Center Education, hosts free K-12 educational materials for students, educators, and families.

Visit “Why Use Primary Sources?” for tips to tell your own stories using real documents from historic periods (http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/ content/primarysources).

Answers: 1-C; 2-A; 3-A, B, C, D; 4-D.

Theater at the Kennedy Center is made possible by

Major support for Musical Theater at the Kennedy Center is provided by

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Kennedy Center Theater Season Sponsor

Additional support is provided by Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley. © 2018 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts