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Monday: The Backstory
posted at 2007-09-17 21:49 | Last modified 2007-11-14 10:38
Happy Constitution Day! Today's the 220th anniversary of the signing of the US Constitution. In honor of the occasion, the state's original 1789 copy of the Bill of Rights is on display this week in Raleigh. It's one of just 9 state copies remaining.
This faded, yellowed piece of parchment is part of the nation's history, but it also has a pretty cool history all its own. It was stolen from the Capitol in Raleigh near the end of the Civil War by a Union soldier who took it home and sold it. It eventually ended up decorating the mantle of an Indiana farmhouse for decades.
The Backstory
Eventually, the document found its way to a less-than-scrupulous antiquities dealer who tried to find a market for it - even offering to sell it back to NC for $5M. Not surprisingly, the state turned down the offer and turned its attention to pursuing other legal means to reclaim its property.
Most of the NC Supreme Court was on hand for today’s Raleigh unveiling, including Justice Paul Newby. He worked the case during his years as Asst. US Attorney in Raleigh. Today, he told fellow Justice Robin Hudson and me the backstory on how the sting went down. It sounds like something Robert Ludlum might have dreamed up.
The state tried to sue the document’s putative owners, who in turn threatened to destroy the document if the state didn’t back off. So NC, the Feds, and the Constitutional Center in PA concocted an elaborate sting to get the document back safely – including secret signals, hidden couriers, and four million dollar checks.
Newby tells the whole story here. Note: It’s a big file – 6 minutes or so – but if you’re into “caper” tales, it’s great stuff.
Trivia challenge
If you go see the Bill of Rights, you’re bound to notice that the document lists twelve, not ten, amendments. Even though NC approved all twelve, two ultimately didn’t pass. One of those failed proposals later gained approval in its own right. Points and lavish kudos to anyone who can tell me which amendment it became.
Got company?
State Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson today declared she’s running for reelection in 2008. Why today? Well, she’s about to get some company.
NCNN’s Matt Willoughby tells me NCAE chief Eddie Davis has all but declared as a challenger for the Dem nomination. Willoughby says Davis is just waiting for the state’s new public financing law to win pre-clearance from the US Dept. of Justice before making it official. (Note to Davis: Never, ever wait for the Feds!)
Seriously, though, this could be one interesting race. Atkinson, if you remember, barely won her seat – she faced a nasty and protracted recount battle against her Republican opponent Bill Fletcher. In the end, the General Assembly had to settle it. Since then, her critics say, she’s given the state Dems precious little return on their investment.
Davis says he’s been talking to state Dem leaders and to Atkinson, but so far, no one’s said the magic word. So Atkinson and the party may be forced to spend money fighting one of their own in the primary, making the general an even tougher fight.
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