New Capitol Visitor Center — Watch Out for the Many Errors
A new report is out that takes an in-depth look at the information being displayed in Washington DC’s new Capitol Visitor Center (CVC). Amazing how many mistakes were made. Sad how many were obviously politically motivated.
The National Motto
The CVC had incorrectly indentified “E pluribus unum” in its Unity display as our national motto. Since 1956, our national motto has been “In God We Trust.” The CVC text had previously stated, “The nation’s motto, E pluribus unum–Out of many, one–expresses the ideal of our Union: many states, one nation. Representing all of the states, Congress has promoted national unity through a process of inquiry, debate, compromise, and consensus. These documents record the continuing legislative efforts to meet the broadest needs of the people.”After congressional members pointed out the error and asked that the display be corrected, the words, “THE NATION’S MOTTO” were plastered over.
Additionally, after objections raised by several members, the words “IN GOD WE TRUST” were added above the replica of the Speaker’s Rostrum in the Virtual House Theater in order to accurately portray the actual Speaker’s Rostrum in the House Chamber. The words were not included in the originally approved CVC text.
The 1824 Presidential Election
The CVC text states: “The 1824 presidential election was the first one to excite high public interest and participation.” Without an equivocation, it was the presidential election of 1800 between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson that was “the first one to excite high public interest and participation.” In that election, the two-party system matured to full operation, with the Federalists of Adams being tossed over in both the House and the Senate in preference for Jefferson’s Republicans, or Anti-Federalists. Both newspapers and pamphleteers were in full swing for that election, and some of the most outrageous news coverage and electioneering ever to arise in any presidential election occurred in the election of 1800.The Northwest Ordinance, 1787
The CVC text states: “The authors of the Northwest Ordinance believed educated citizens were critical to the success of self-government. Article 3 declared, ‘… education shall forever be encouraged.’ The Northwest Ordinance, together with the earlier Land Ordinance of 1785, set aside a section of each new township’s land for the support of public schools.”Article 3 of the Northwest Ordinance states: “Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”
Very clearly, then, the Framers of the Northwest Ordinance did not indicate in the Ordinance that they “believed educated citizens were critical to the success of self-government”; to the contrary, they stated that they believed that “religion, morality, and knowledge” were critical to the success of self-government. Schools were not the object of the Ordinance (as indicated by the abbreviated quote in the CVC text) but instead were the means of implementing those three items of congressional concern.
And there are many more errors. Read the full report: Reconstructing American History.