WHERE FREEDOM SPEAKS
Where freedom Speaks Educates Youth About Capitol, Congress and
Citizenship, United States Capitol Historical Society January 1999
This STB was prepared under the direction of Clarence J (Bud) Brown,
President of the United States Capitol Historical Society and a member of
Blanchester Lodge #191, Blanchester, Ohio. -- Editor
The New York Times recently reported a survey showing that more American
teenagers could name the Three Stooges than the three branches of the U.S.
Government. This startling statistic reveals that many young Americans fail to
grasp even the basic elements of citizenship.
The United States Capitol Historical Society's flagship educational program,
Where Freedom Speaks, seeks to combat this troubling social trend. The Where
Freedom Speaks pageant, the laying of the original Capitol cornerstone by
President George Washington and other Freemasons, enhances elementary school-age
children's knowledge of government through participation in creative activities.
It is the Society's hope that two major historical milestones the 200th
anniversary of Washington's passing in 1799 and the bicentennial of Congress
moving into the Capitol in 1800-will raise awareness about the importance of the
very history lessons emphasized by Where Freedom Speaks.
The United States Capitol Historical Society, a non-profit, non-partisan
educational organization founded in 1962, was chartered by Congress to educate
the public on the history and heritage of the Capitol and Congress. It developed
Where Freedom Speaks in 1993, the bicentennial of the laying of the Capitol
cornerstone, in conjunction with educational consultants and Society board
member, Carmella LaSpada, director of the "No Greater Love" Foundation.
Through production and performance of the pageant, students learn three vital
concepts of citizenship: the symbolic and institutional importance of the
Capitol building; the rights and responsibilities of American citizenship as
guaranteed in the Bill of Rights; and, the importance of working together across
different cultures and backgrounds. They are given a better appreciation of
representative democracy, their responsibility to participate in the governing
process and their connection to the nation's history. The pageant not only
teaches students about history, it helps them relive it. As one young actor
remarks in the instructional tape that tells how to produce the program, Where
Freedom Speaks shows us that "history is in ourselves."
President George Washington and capital city planner Pierre Charles L'Enfant
had selected the site for the Capitol building in June 1791. Washington
supported Dr. William Thornton's winning entry for the Capitol design,
recommending it to the District Commissioners for its "Grandeur, Simplicity and
Convenience' " On September 18, 1793, President Washington led the comer stone
laying ceremony. He marched at the head of a parade from the Potomac River to
the Capitol site followed by members of his lodge, the Maryland Grand Lodge, the
Alexandria, VA, Volunteer Artillery and Masonic lodges from all over Maryland,
Virginia and the District. With a ceremonial marble-headed gavel and a silver
trowel Washington set the cornerstone on a silver plate marking the date as the
thirteenth year of American independence. The Alexandria Gazette reported that
the ceremony "ended in prayer, Masonic chanting Honours, and a fifteen volley
from the Artillery."
Since its debut in September 1994 at St. Francis de Sales, a Catholic
parochial school in Philadelphia, PA, the pageant has received wide support from
educators and politicians concerned with teaching children about the unique
heritage of their democratic republic. "One of my most important-and
enjoyable-responsibilities is helping our young people learn how government
works . . . I spend as much time as possible visiting schools and trying to help
students understand the importance of playing an active role in a democracy,"
Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl said. "Where Freedom Speaks is a magnificent
opportunity for schools to combine a variety of teaching tools in a fun and
exciting presentation."
An advisory board of educators consulted with the Society during the
development of the pageant. The resulting Where Freedom Speaks production kit
merges the insights of their classroom experience with the play's conceptual
framework. The boxed kit, available from the Society to your lodge for
distribution in local schools, costs $50 (or less in larger quantities). It is
an invaluable resource for elementary school teachers or community leaders who
wish to produce the pageant in their communities.
The kit includes an instructional video for teachers, an audiotape of the
music used in the original production, a 27-page lesson guide (with related
additional reading materials, tests and learning projects), a 23-page production
guide and a copy of the script and the sheet music. The kit also includes a copy
of the Society's Capitol Guidebook, We, the People. Groups that perform the play
will receive 20 complimentary copies of the book which, in numerous editions
published in six languages, has sold more than 5 million copies in the past 30
years.
The 15-minute video shows how the students of St. Francis de Sales performed
the 5 first Where Freedom Speaks pageant. The school's staff also discusses the
play's impact on the students, the modest production costs and the teachers' own
insights into staging the play, including how the Catholic nuns made the Masonic
uniforms for the participants.
Part of the value of Where Freedom Speaks is that it integrates valuable
lessons of individual citizenship with practical classroom activities. Through
the learning process outlined in the lesson guide, students hone skills in such
fundamental areas as history and research, mathematics and design, singing and
public speaking, acting and socialization. The pageant format is flexible,
allowing teachers to include as few as 25 to as many as 100 students from
various grade levels. Teachers also may add their own ideas, other patriotic
songs or historical references to legislation or issues.
The production guide offers teachers a good resource for the mechanics of
play production and promotion. Among other items it includes information on the
performance of copyrighted music; diagrams on how to assemble some of the props
and costumes; and a sample letter to local Members of Congress and other elected
officials, inviting them to the pageant.
In June 1998, the national capital debut of Where Freedom Speaks at Watkins
Elementary School drew local politicians and school board officials. The
Alexandria, VA, and Georgetown, D.C., Masonic lodges supported the event by
displaying to the Watkins School students and their audience the actual gavel
and trowel Washington used in the 1793 cornerstone ceremony. Later that fall The
Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation underwrote the distribution costs of the
Where Freedom Speaks kits to every Washington, D.C., elementary school and
numerous other public and private schools in the metropolitan area.
Since the program's inception, more than 900 kits have been made available to
schools nationwide through the generous support of other sponsors like General
Dynamics Corporation, Kemper Insurance Companies and GTE Corporation.
Twenty-five Members of Congress have supported these distributions by reviewing
the program and writing letters of introduction to educators receiving the kit.
Congressman Jim Moran (VA) strongly endorsed the Where Freedom Speaks kit
before it was distributed to more than 20 schools in his Northern Virginia
district. "As a symbol of our democracy, the U.S. Capitol Building demonstrates
the importance of responsible citizenship and the values of the U.S.
Constitution to our future leaders-our young people," Congressman Moran said.
"Where Freedom Speaks will provide a valuable educational opportunity for
students to learn about, appreciate and embody the values of democracy as they
fulfill their leadership potential and carry on our American purpose."
Once the schools receive the kits, the Society encourages them to keep in
contact with its Educational Outreach Department. The Society is eager to
provide promotional assistance for groups that plan to produce the play, for
instance, by sending "press releases" about the play's performance to local
newspapers and media outlets. The Society also is available to offer production
advice and to answer teachers' questions about the kit. Most importantly, the
Society wants to hear educators' reactions and suggestions concerning the play.
To that end, educators may expect a follow-up letter and questionnaire after
they have had time to review the materials.
Since 1962, the Society has created and presented educational programs and
publications to foster, through the story of the Capitol and the U.S. Congress,
an understanding of the richness and inspiration of representative democracy.
The Society sponsors scholarly conferences, research programs and educational
fellowships that contribute fresh and important studies about our nation's
democratic republic. Through the generosity of foundation support, the Society
has developed several programs-such as Where Freedom Speaks-to inform
elementary, high school and college students about the history of the Capitol
and those who serve in it. The Society also provides special tours of the
Capitol, lectures and symposia for its thousands of members and hundreds of
thousands of history enthusiasts, scholars, students and the general public.
If you are interested in distributing Where Freedom Speaks through your lodge
to local elementary schools or through other community venues or to learn more
about the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, contact the Manager of Educational
Outreach at (202) 5438919, ext. 28, or write: Where Freedom Speaks Program, U.S.
Capitol Historical Society, 200 Maryland Ave., NE, Washington D.C., 20002. You
also may visit the Society's website at
http://www.uschs.org, or call 1-800-887-9318.
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