Federal Park Ranger Mocks Founders, Constitution ... While Leading Tour of Independence Hall!
By J. Christian Adams April 19, 2016
https://pjmedia.com/jchristianadams/2016/04/19/philadelphia-story-federal-park-ranger-mocks-constitution-at-its-birthplace/?singlepage=trueA federal employee of the National Park Service who offers guided tours of Independence Hall in Philadelphia -- the birthplace of the Constitution -- stunned a group of tourists this week by telling them the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were the product of "class elites who were just out to protect their privileged status."
Mary A. Hogan, a federal employee making in excess of $95,000 per year in salary and benefits, provided a tour Monday afternoon at Independence Hall laced with factual inaccuracies and disparaging comments about the Founders and the Constitution.
Several attendees of her tour group on Monday told PJ Media that Hogan, who goes by the name Missy, had explained to them that "the Founders knew that when they left this room, what they had written wouldn't matter very much." Hogan told the group that the "most important part of the Constitution written at Independence Hall was the ability to change it."
Hogan also inaccurately told the tour group that "King George III paid more attention to Parliament" than the colonists "because they were right there and could remove him from office." Parliament did not possess the power to remove the king from office in the 1770s, and does not possess that power today.
Sponsored
Hogan's LinkedIn page says she is the "chief of operations" at the National Park Service in Philadelphia.
"It is astounding how many times the first draft of that Constitution protected slavery," Hogan told her tour group Tuesday afternoon.
The text of the Constitution in 1787 did not mention slavery even once.
The only oblique reference to slavery is in Article I, Section 2. There, the Constitution refused to give southern states political power based on slaves inhabiting those states. Instead, the Constitution diluted the power of slave states by counting slaves only at a rate of 60 percent in allocating seats in Congress. Southern states wanted slaves to count 100% toward apportionment of seats. This "three-fifths" provision hurt slave-holding states, it did not "protect" them.
Hogan was reported to have said in an interview:
It is imperative that the interpreter has the ability to breech sensitive issues. At the same time I realize that it is as difficult as it is important. The interpreter needs to present the facts. It is important that the interpreter not put his/her own 21st century spin on it. Try to keep your own emotions in check when discussing these issues and allow visitors to draw their own conclusions. Interpreters must have faith in the visitors. The interpretive process relies on trust and communication between the visitor and the interpreter. It is necessary that the interpreter accept that some visitors will be offended. One of the most important attributes of an interpreter is bravery and a willingness to dive into the deep end of these subjects.
I realize that it’s a lot easier to do a program on Benjamin Franklin than it is on Oney Judge, but it’s our duty to also tell the lesser known stories about our park and engage it from a multidimensional viewpoint.
Hogan is listed as a GS-12 employee on the federal pay scale and earns at least $95,000 in salary and benefits.
