The power of hosting the presidential debate at the National Constitution Center
The fact that, for the first time, a presidential debate will occur not at a university or commercial venue, but at a history museum is a meaningful one.
All eyes are about to be on the National Constitution Center, a history museum in Philadelphia. On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will face off in a highly anticipated debate at the center.
For the first time, a presidential debate between the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates will occur not at a university or commercial venue, but at a museum.
Although much of the media attention flocks to the candidates, the decision to host the debate at a history museum is a meaningful one. Amid rampant misinformation, extreme polarization, and culture wars that pit neighbor against neighbor, the 2024 candidates will tackle our most urgent issues and policies right in “America’s Town Hall.”
This is a signal.
Americans are desperate for reliable information and context, but trustworthy sources are few and far between. In contrast to the internet’s black hole of hot takes, sneaky sponsored content, and algorithms that push us further to the extreme, museums allow us to make up our own minds using primary sources.
Where’s our public square today?
In fact, museums are one of the few institutions that remain trusted by Americans — 96% of us, regardless of political affiliation, approve of lawmakers supporting museums.
This museum, of course, is unique. The National Constitution Center is a go-to source for expertise on one of our most complex primary sources: the U.S. Constitution itself.
Politicians routinely invoke the Constitution as a political tool or to slam their opponents. But when less than two-thirds of Americans can name all three branches of government, do most of us even get the reference? How can we interpret candidates’ use of the Constitution — or adherence to it — if we aren’t familiar with it ourselves?
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The differences in how former President Trump and Vice President Harris have engaged with this historic document could not be more stark.
Trump has repeatedly challenged the interpretation of the Constitution. For example, against claims that he violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars the president from engaging in an insurrection, the former president said he only vowed to “preserve, protect, and defend” the Constitution but did not have to “support” it.
As a prosecutor and as vice president, Harris tends to invoke the document as the basis for the rule of law, whether during the U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh or in a reflection on the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, calling on Americans to “unite in defense of our democracy in order to form a more perfect union.”
The rest of us, living normal lives off the campaign trail, need to decide what this document means for us.
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At this inflection point — rife with division and decreasing pride in our country — we are grappling with what it means to be American, how our ideals have been realized or remain out of reach, and if there is hope left for us. For some, our founding documents guide us forward. For others, old promises have fallen woefully short.
Either way, primary sources, and the scholarship and conversations they inspire, remind us that our history has never been a consistent march toward a predetermined outcome. Congress adds amendments to the Constitution. How we vote changes. How we debate changes, election to election. There have already been 27 different versions of the American flag. History is still being discovered, collected, and interpreted to inform us today.
Our shared spaces, too, are evolving. The American Revolution was fomented in coffee shops and around kitchen tables. Where’s our public square today? Where can we imagine a future we feel proud of?
As we continue to retreat into our own echo chambers online, museums are the third spaces we’ve been looking for — and this debate proves it. Perhaps the institutions that make room for nuance and complexity in our history are just the right place for meaningful conversations about where our country is going.
History, and our knowledge of it, will be the backdrop for two candidates wrestling with the future. Will we “make America great again” or are we “not going back”?
In Philadelphia, this conversation will continue beyond the debate. For example, the week after the presidential debate, Eastern State Penitentiary is hosting a “Democracy For All” program. The museum is kicking off its weeklong program with a workshop from Youth250, the only youth-led initiative commemorating America’s 250th birthday in 2026.
Surely we must use our country’s history to inform what’s next — and because of our museums and archives, each of us has the power to go straight to the source.
Cameron Katz is the head of content and partnerships at Made By Us, a nationwide effort from hundreds of history museums, including the Smithsonian and National Archives, to support young adults in their civic learning and participation.