At the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association Brunch in Springfield, IL, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) expressed concern for the state of the nation’s founding values.
00:00So this last observation about democracy, the moment that we're in, the American way of life, what this struggle at the end of the day is all about.
00:15The story is sometimes told of that moment in 1787, the convention hall in Philadelphia. Framers of the Constitution completed their work, and Ben Franklin, one of the great thinkers of all time, he emerges from this convention hall, and he's approached by a woman named Elizabeth Powell.
00:35Ms. Powell was the first lady of the city of Philadelphia, close friend of George and Martha Washington's, prominent philanthropist at the time.
00:47She approaches Ben Franklin after they completed their work and says, Dr. Franklin, what have you gentlemen just done?
00:55Have you created a monarchy or republic?
01:00And Dr. Franklin famously responds, Mrs. Powell, we've created a republic, if you can keep it.
01:13Think about that a lot during these challenging times.
01:20Dr. Ben Franklin expressing skepticism about our collective ability to maintain the republic.
01:30And he expresses that skepticism at a triumphant moment.
01:35America had just defeated the British Empire, the world's greatest superpower at the time.
01:43And yet, Dr. Franklin, when he's asked this question by Elizabeth Powell, responds with a healthy degree of skepticism.
01:54Why was that the case?
01:57I think it's because everything that was done in that convention hall, checks and balances, separate and co-equal branches of government,
02:09the independent judiciary, the free and fair press, the preeminence of the rule of law, all of those values, all of those ideas, all of those institutions
02:21had never before been put together in one form of government in the history of the world.
02:29And so perhaps the framers were somewhat skeptical about America's ability to maintain it.
02:37But the majesty of our journey, the incredible part of American exceptionalism, is that year after year, decade after decade, century after century,
02:50we've kept this democracy thing going.
02:53But now, perhaps, for the first and only time since the Civil War, all of those values, all of those ideas, all of those institutions are under assault.
03:08Not from without, but from within.
03:12Mrs. Powell, we've created a republic, if you can keep it.
03:19That's the question that all of us now, as Democrats, as citizens, as community leaders and activists and elected officials,
03:30that all of us are called upon to answer at this moment.
03:35We've created a republic, if you can keep it.
Be the first to comment