Located three blocks north of Independence Hall — where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were both signed — the National Constitution Center will serve as the venue for the much-anticipated Sept. 10 presidential debate.
Philadelphians may know the Constitution Center best as a museum for learning about the Constitution, and that is indeed a big part of what it does. But the center is more than just a collection of exhibits, and tonight’s debate is far from the first time the NCC has hosted a dialogue about American government and its impact.
The Constitution Center’s Core Purposes
Although it’s a private nonprofit, the National Constitution Center was actually chartered by Congress around the time of the Constitution’s bicentennial.
The Constitution Heritage Act of 1988 lays out several core things the center is supposed to do, including displaying exhibits about the Constitution’s history and relevance; providing public education on the historic document; and “functioning as an intellectual center, drawing both academics and practitioners to debate and refine constitutional issues.”
The NCC and Civic Dialogue
Jeffrey Rosen, the CEO and president of the National Constitution Center, calls that third purpose acting as “America's town hall.”
To that end, the center has hosted some other nationally significant events. In 2020, two ABC News presidential town halls were held there: one with former President Donald Trump and one with current President Joe Biden. And in 2008, a Democratic primary debate took place at the NCC.
Political candidates have also used the center as a campaigning venue, from 2020 presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg (a Democrat), to 2023 Philly mayoral candidate David Oh (a Republican), to former 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (an independent). The National Constitution Center — which is nonpartisan — makes its space available “on equal terms” to political campaigns or TV networks without any content-based restrictions, Rosen said.
But the NCC isn’t just a venue for political discourse to play out. Through its own programming, the center regularly looks to foster conversation between “thought leaders of diverse perspectives,” Rosen said, primarily on constitutional issues and American history. Guests at the NCC’s own programming have ranged from professors to novelists to Supreme Court justices.
The NCC does this virtually on its “We the People” podcast and through its online education resources, as well as through in-person and online “America’s Town Hall” events.
“It's incredibly gratifying in this polarized time … to be able to host these civil debates,” Rosen said. “We bring together people who genuinely disagree about constitutional issues … but because they're united by a commitment to civil dialogue and to constitutional rather than political debate, they can respectfully engage arguments on all sides. And it's just a model for the way democracy is supposed to work.”
How the Presidential Debate Ended Up There, and What It Means
Having hosted those two town halls at the NCC in 2020, ABC News reached out and requested to use the NCC’s space for this year’s debate, according to Rosen.
“Of course, we immediately, enthusiastically said yes,” Rosen said, describing it as an “incredible honor.”
In his view, having the debate at the National Constitution Center — right near the birthplace of American democracy, with the “best view of Independence Hall in America” — is particularly meaningful.
Said Rosen: “May the light that emerged from Independence Hall in the drafting of the Constitution and the Declaration illuminate the debate.”
