Is New York Returning Pennsylvania’s Stolen Copy of the Bill of Rights? [Updated]
[Update 11:31 a.m.] Turns out this is a better story than I thought. The Wall Street Journal reports:
For years, historians have disagreed whether the New York Public Library’s original copy of the Bill of Rights is the one that went missing long ago from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
On Wednesday, the state and the library are expected to call a truce after agreeing to share custody of the 223-year-old document for the next century, at which point the agreement must be renegotiated or extended.
While no clear-cut answer has emerged as to the document’s rightful owner, the pact ends five years of discussions between Pennsylvania and the library and closes the door on a legal fight.
So the New York Public Library isn’t generously sharing—it’s returning what’s rightfully ours! Possibly. The Journal says: “The two sides agree there is no way to prove without a doubt that the library’s Bill of Rights belonged to Pennsylvania.” Let’s just assume it’s really ours.
[Original post 11:23 a.m.] The National Constitution Center has come to an agreement with the New York Public Library to begin displaying one of the 12 surviving copies of the Bill of Rights, starting in 2014.
From the press release:
“This landmark agreement makes public one of the most important documents in the nation’s history, an over 200-year-old, original copy of the Bill of Rights,” said New York Public Library President Tony Marx. “The document has been expertly preserved at the Library for over a century, leaving it in prime condition and ready to inspire and educate the public now and in the future.”
“This is a win for Pennsylvania, New York and the citizens of the United States,” said Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett. “For the first time in decades, this historic document will be seen by ‘We the People,’ the people who were granted these inalienable rights and privileges that we are still guided by today.”
“This landmark agreement makes public one of the most important documents in the nation’s history, an over 200-year-old, original copy of the Bill of Rights,” said New York Public Library President Tony Marx. “The document has been expertly preserved at the Library for over a century, leaving it in prime condition and ready to inspire and educate the public now and in the future.”
The center will display the document to the general public for three years, starting in 2014.
