Images courtesy of Christie’s
As the right to free speech makes headlines following the Trump administration’s attack on late-night show hosts, what better time to revisit the Constitution? A rare draft of the document will be on display at the King Manor Museum in Jamaica, home to founding father Rufus King, for this weekend only. The draft has King’s handwritten edits and marks the first time the words “We the people of the United States,” were included. The free public exhibition, held September 19 through September 21, is presented by Christie’s auction house, ahead of its annual Americana sale in January.
Among King’s handwritten edits are the removal of a preposition in the preamble, the addition of “affirmation” for Quakers unwilling to swear oaths, lowering Congress’s threshold to override a presidential veto from three-fourths to two-thirds, and, perhaps most consequentially, adding that “all duties, imposts & excise shall be uniform throughout the U.S.”
All of these changes were later included in the Constitution’s final version, printed on September 17, 1787.
The document’s rarity cannot be overstated. It’s the second printed draft of the Constitution used at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Of the 60 copies printed for the convention, only 12 survive, nearly all held by institutions like the Library of Congress and the National Archives.
“This document, used by one of the delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1787, offers a first-hand glimpse into the mechanics of how the fundamental charter for our nation was produced,” Peter Klarnet, senior specialist for manuscript and printed Americana at Christie’s, said.
“It’s a privilege to be able to share this with the public to foster a better understanding of our shared history.”
New Yorkers have the privilege of viewing the document in the home of its writer. Located at 150-03 Jamaica Avenue, the King Manor Museum preserves the legacy of the founding father and highlights his political and antislavery work to promote a stronger democracy.
“It’s fantastic to be able to show this document in the home of the man who wrote it,” Kelsey Brow, executive director of the King Manor Museum, said. “A document of this caliber is incredibly rare, and even rarer to be on display in a small museum like King Manor.”
The copy will be sold at Christie’s in January during its annual Americana sale, an event of added significance as the nation marks its 250th anniversary next year.
Celebrations of the nation’s semiquincentennial will also take place at the New York Public Library next year, when the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building displays its rare copy of the Declaration of Independence from July 1 to 3.
The exhibition is part of the NYPL’s systemwide commemoration of the nation’s 250th birthday, “Revolution: 1776 and Beyond,” which will highlight New York’s role in the American Revolution and its influence on subsequent global revolutions.
Additionally, the largest fleet of tall ships ever to sail into New York Harbor will arrive from July 3 to 8 for the semiquincentennial. As part of the once-in-a-generation “Sail4th 250,” six days of festivities will unfold across the five boroughs, featuring 30 tall ships and 40 gray-hull vessels from around the world on July 4.
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