##VIDEO ID:Wd_AEs1XKno## [Music] welcome to the lebur public library we are thrilled to present our highly anticipated Smithsonian exhibition voices and votes Democracy in America this extraordinary showcase explores 250 years of United States history diving into the stories struggles and triumphs that have shaped our democracy it's a captivating experience designed for all ages especially recommended for those nine and up and now Robert boes our Adult Services librarian will take you on a virtual walkthrough of the exhibit let's explore voices and votes Democracy in [Music] America my name is Robert boils and I'm one of the Adult Services Librarians here at the lesburg public library the Smithsonian exhibition voices and votes Democracy in America has one entrance but there is no necessary order to view the different sections visitors can sign the guest book and walk through to begin their tour on the back of the archway starts the first area titled the Great Leap referring to the political origin of of our country's Independence we were originally citizens of the British Empire a continent away until grievances over Taxation and representation went unanswered this led to economic boycotts protests riots and eventually Revolution it culminated in the signing of the Declaration of Independence where we severed ties with Great Britain and proclaimed ourselves Americans in our own right this was the start of the great experiment in democracy imagine imagine hearing official news of a revolution and what that would mean for the average person After the Revolution was fought in one it was now time for the new states to establish a nation that embodied their revolutionary ideals of a government of the people the Constitution would be one of the first internal struggles in defining who the people actually were this kiosk helps test your knowledge on what was included in the Constitution and what was discarded due to disagreements this video explores who were considered the people the ones able to vote at the founding of our nation this flip book focuses on the debates that occurred during the Constitutional Convention this section titled a vote of voice explores the history of suffrage in our country from our founding to now voting rights expanded contracted and expanded for different groups of people amendments and laws were passed giving the right to to vote to more and more people minorities women and everyone over the age of 18 imagine a time where people who can vote now couldn't at one point this video shows people telling their stories about the first time that they voted drawings and depictions in this book highlight the struggle for and against the various suffrage causes efforts were made to get people to vote like early and absentee voting there were even efforts to prevent people from exercising their right to vote with pole taxes and literacy tests this kiosk is the section titled stories of democracy it is a collection of testimonials of a diverse group of people and how they have participated as Citizens in the political process to improve their hometowns and the country as a whole this section titled creating citizens explores the concept of citizenship and what it means to be a citizen in our country democracy means um Freedom do we need to share a common National story we pride ourselves on being a nation of immigrants but we struggle with the idea of how newcomers enrich our national character and how it might change as a result there have been many challenges facing immigrant and ethnic groups as they came to this country new citizens have to take knowledge tests about our government here one can listen to different patriotic tunes and anthems that contributed to our identity schools have also struggled with how to teach American history will schools focus on teaching history through the founders or include stories of less famous people will stories of diverse people and groups be heard speaking of diversity how diverse should the citizenry be we have one view that we are Multicultural and that our differences should be celebrated another view states that we are a Melting Pot of assimilated cultures creating one unique American identity Millions have immigrated to our Shores speaking different languages wearing different clothes and holding different faiths these images showcase the diversity of immigrants and that there is a desire to share a common identity As Americans here is an examination of what the rights and responsibilities of citizens are the Four Freedoms from FDR speak about the essential rights of citizens with speech and religion being in our Bill of Rights common responsibilities include paying our taxes and for some serving in the military rights are freedoms we have that are protected by our laws while responsibilities are duties or things that we should do in order to be good citizens we must understand our rights and responsibilities in this section titled the machinery of democracy we will explore the different formal and informal institutions and activities of the political process that helped make it function political parties began at the start of our country where people were divided along political and ideological lines over the role of the government symbols and mascots became popular early on as we see the Democratic party represented by a donkey and the Republican Party by an elephant along with other political party campaign slogans images and objects campaigning is a means to drive up voter turnout for a candidate party or position Mass campaign spectacles like the Torch Light Parade arose as a way of demonstrating partisan strength and mobilizing in different voters there is also what's called campaign fashion like buttons shirts hats and stickers that we see all the time around elections tv ads also became popular since the 1950s coming into our homes these are the states to make a world in which all of God's children can live moving over to the other side we see that the physical act of voting or casting a ballot has transformed throughout the years the earliest elections were done with voice votes or paper ballots as technology advanced so did voting mechanisms like punch card ballots leather machines and now computers methods of voting is p work as it is regulated by States so we see that there isn't a National Standard this shows the different methods by States and counties for different elections this last section is titled beyond the ballot and it showcases parallel influences to the political process aside from directly voting on candidates and measures petitioning is a right enshrined in our first amendment where the people can bring grievances against the government it was a way for those who had not had the right to vote yet to be able to influence policy like poor men women and minorities legislation like the Civil Rights Act or Court decisions like brown V bord of Ed were the result of years of petitioning protests marches and demonstrations are other ways to influence policy and put pressure on the government there are posters that Express the message of particular demonstrations visitors can use this kiosk to search through reproductions of protest posters through our history this monitor shows footage of different historic protests lobbying has been carried out by individuals and informal groups advocating their causes and by well-funded professionals who represent large corporations and established organizations with significant sums of money where money and power meet there is always a possib ility that in this representative democracy not everyone is listened to equally there is often a negative connotation with lobbying but remember people like Susan banthony lobbied for women's rights while corporations lobbied for their own interests any individual or group can exert pressure on the government whether for the common good or self-serving purposes ultimately this exhibit is an invitation for visitors to reflect on on their own role in the Continuing Story of American democracy welcome to the leeburg public library to celebrate the opening of our highly anticipated Smithsonian exhibition I just want to say this has been such an honor for me this whole project from beginning to end I just want to say a huge thank you to miss Dusty Matthews our new library director for allowing this but then Miss Deb boinger she this was a year-long process for her and this was her baby and I just want to say thank you to year this opportunity allows our community to explore the rich history from the American Revolution and women's suffrage to the civil rights movement and the power of casting balance so please spread the word tell your family and friends to come celebrate history and give hope for future Generations on this journey thank you spian Museum on Main Street and the Flor of humanities for choosing the city of leeburg we need to look for opportunities to learn American history from reliable sources we the people still have the power to change that may I encourage you again to make sure that you're registered to vote become an informed Citizen and let your vote be your voice the League's main purpose its total mission is empowering voters and um defending democracy and we do that through education informing in a nonpartisan way and urging civic participation and this exhibit does exactly that I think this is an amazing thing for our library and all of our community and our surrounding communities anything when it comes to history is something that you should take serious and learn and have being a well-informed citizen but also a well-informed fer so that's what this is all about that's incredible what this is the thing for the hanging chad you use this little device here to push down and there not one but you can see the holes place they pushed in it right here like that if you didn't get it to go clearly all the way through it would leave that hanging chant it's important to remember our history so we don't repeat some of those horrible things that occurred but those horrible things have made us the people we are today for more information please visit our website follow us on social media or contact us by phone at 3527 7 28979 you can also reach us by email at librarian leberg florida.gov thank you for joining us and we hope to see you soon