As the title suggests, What the Constitution Means to Me examines the symbolic and practical significance of the United States Constitution, while scrutinizing its limitations through the lens of playwright Heidi Schreck’s experience. With the 2024 presidential election approaching, Constitution prompts audiences to consider how the value of a foundational government document measures up in our current political climate. After all, the Constitution is fragile and enormous; a shield and a sword depending on who wields it. A connective tissue between the American people and its government, the Constitution is immeasurably significant in meaning and value. But what about the physical document?
The recent discovery of a rare copy of the United States Constitution in North Carolina conveniently offers a contemporary point of reference for the perceived value of the Constitution in 2024. According to CBS News, a copy of the Constitution was discovered in a filing cabinet at Hayes Farm, in Edenton, North Carolina in 2022. It is thought to be the only U.S. Constitution of its kind in private hands and is headed to auction. The minimum bid of $1 million has already been made and it is expected to go for a much higher price tag (2024). When the Constitution was sent to Congress for approval on September 18th, 1787, Charles Thomas, the secretary of the Confederation Congress ordered 100 copies to be printed. It is speculated that Thomas signed two copies for each of the 13 states, and only a few are known to exist. The auctioneer, Andrew Brunk, notes that the perceived dollar value of this copy is unknown since the last time a signed copy like this appeared, it sold for $400 in 1891. In 2021, the fine art broker corporation Sotheby’s New York sold a copy of the Constitution printed for the Continental Congress for $43.2 million dollars, so who’s to say what the Hayes Farm copy might sell for.
We can only presume Charles Thomas requested these copies of the final draft of the Constitution. But that ‘final’ draft was only signed into law because the delegates agreed to James Madison’s plan for ten amendments that altered it to better reflect the people it represented. Even the Constitution was a follow up document to the original Articles of Confederation! Whatever the cost, the highest bidder will gain ownership of a piece of history – a snapshot of who and what it represented all those years ago. But just as its value has grown over the years, so have the moral values it enshrines. Who’s to say what it will mean to be American in another 250 years, or what it will cost?