Congress Celebrates Its Origins in Philadelphia
https://highered.nbclearn.com/portal/site/HigherEd/browse/?cuecard=1923
General Information
Source:
Creator:
Event Date:
Air/Publish Date:
NBC Nightly News
Tom Brokaw/Steve
Delaney
07/16/1787
07/16/1987
Resource Type:
Copyright:
Copyright Date:
Clip Length
Video News Report
NBCUniversal Media,
LLC.
1987
00:02:14
Description
The 200th birthday of the United States Congress sparks the biggest congressional migration in history,
with more than 200 congressmen and senators making a ceremonial pilgrimage to Philadelphia, the
birthplace of their institution.
Keywords
Constitution, 200th Anniversary, Bicentennial, Philadelphia, 1787, Framers, Founding Fathers,
Representation, Great Compromise, Connecticut Compromise, Senate, Liberty, Justice, Freedom, Origins
of Congress, House of Representatives, Congress, Constitutional Law, Legal History, Common Law,
Congress, Congressional History, 100th Congress, Big States, Little States, Independence Hall, Jim
Wright, Hobart Caywood, Norman Sisisky, William Gray
Citation
© 2008-2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Page 1 of 3
MLA
"Congress Celebrates Its Origins in Philadelphia." Steve Delaney, correspondent. NBC Nightly News.
NBCUniversal Media. 16 July 1987. NBC Learn. Web. 12 December 2015
APA
Delaney, S. (Reporter), & Brokaw, T. (Anchor). 1987, July 16. Congress Celebrates Its Origins in
Philadelphia. [Television series episode]. NBC Nightly News. Retrieved from
https://highered.nbclearn.com/portal/site/HigherEd/browse/?cuecard=1923
CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE
"Congress Celebrates Its Origins in Philadelphia" NBC Nightly News, New York, NY: NBC Universal,
07/16/1987. Accessed Sat Dec 12 2015 from NBC Learn:
https://highered.nbclearn.com/portal/site/HigherEd/browse/?cuecard=1923
Transcript
Congress Celebrates Its Origins in Philadelphia
TOM BROKAW, anchor:
The Iran-Contra hearings were abbreviated today so the congressional delegation could go to Philadelphia
for a special occasion. Each state was represented by a group of 200 legislators who trooped into
Independence Hall this afternoon. And NBC’s Steve Delaney tonight reports on a unique aspect of the
constitutionals bicentennial ceremonies.
STEVE DELANEY, reporting:
Today is, in a sense, the 200th birthday of the United States Congress. The event sparked the biggest
congressional migration in history, with more than 200 congressmen and senators making a ceremonial
pilgrimage to the birthplace of their institution.
Mr. HOBART CAYWOOD (Superintendent Independence National Park): Members of the 100th
Congress, I would like to welcome you back home.
DELANEY: By mid-July of 1787, the delegates had been deadlocked for weeks over how to design a
legislature that would give big states like Pennsylvania adequate representation without ignoring the
interest of small states like Delaware. The argument was so intense, it threatened to destroy the entire
effort to write a constitution.
House Speaker JAMES WRIGHT: It made the constitution, with all of its other delicately balanced
compromises, possible, and that was the great compromise that we celebrate here today.
DELANEY: Some visiting members of Congress said it was sobering and inspiring to walk the grounds
where the constitution was framed.
Congressman NORMAN SISISKY: I’m thrilled to death to be here today, and excited and, I can’t tell you
how much.
© 2008-2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Page 2 of 3
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: So, it’s important?
Congressman SISISKY: It is very important to me to be here.
Congressman WILLIAM GRAY: Well, I think it’s an important day for all Americans to remember that
vehicle, which was crafted by our founding fathers to pursue justice, which is the precursor of liberty and
freedom.
DELANEY: Philadelphia’s Congressman Gray is hosting as many of his colleagues as will stay through
the weekend, to continue celebrating the origins of Congress. Steve Delaney, NBC News, Philadelphia.
© 2008-2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Page 3 of 3