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From Jefferson's desk to FDR's microphone: Tour the Smithsonian with Lonnie Bunch 51%
7/5/2026, 1:00:00 PM
BS Summary: This video contains 34 faulty reasoning types, including Post Hoc (False Cause), Anecdotal, and Hasty Generalization, with Appeal to Emotion as the most egregious example at 30.5% saturation with 283 hits. Analysis detected 2,124 faulty-reasoning hits from 927 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 50.4% and a BS Rank of 51% (10,907 of 21,886 videos). This video is worse (more manipulative) than 50.20% of the video peer group.
Secretary Bunch, here we are in the
American Aspirations exhibit, one of the oldest rooms in the Smithsonian Castle,
and the lights are quite dim in here.
Why is that important?
>> We have some of the most treasured objects in the Smithsonian in this room,
and light is the enemy of treasured objects surviving.
So, we wanted to basically make the light level so that people can enjoy it, but that we make sure that these artifacts are here for another 100 years.
>> Well, we have to start with this artifact, which is the desk of Thomas Jefferson.
This is where he signed the Declaration of Independence.
It's extraordinary.
It's so small and yet so powerful in terms of our nation's history.
>> It's one of my favorite objects, right?
This is a desk that Jefferson designed himself, and he called it his writing box.
You could just imagine him in Philadelphia.
He would sort of jot down things, notes, ideas on this box, and then basically write the entire Declaration of Independence.
And what I love is that how this survived.
Jefferson knew how important this was,
so he actually put a note in it to say,
"This is the desk where I wrote the Declaration of Independence."
And then he gave the declaration He gave this box not to his granddaughter, but to his granddaughter's husband, which tells you something.
And he kept it and gave it to the United States Congress in 1880, and then they gave it to the Smithsonian.
>> It's just so powerful to see it in person, quite literally the core roots of our democracy.
>> One of the joys of the Smithsonian is you open drawers and you're like, "Oh my god, what that [laughter] What's that?"
You know, when I was a kid, I opened a drawer and it was the compass that Lewis and Clark carried when they went across the country.
So, it's like it's just amazing what we have here.
>> And this is a broadside. Talk about why this is so important.
>> Part of the understanding of America is you defend democracy, and a lot of that is military. And one One things that's so powerful is broadside.
During the Civil War, when the war broke out, many African-Americans, slave and free, said,
"I want to participate." And Lincoln and the army said, "No, we don't want you."
By 1863, the war is going badly, and suddenly you need these these folks. Um
and so, when the army started to recruit blacks, many of the free blacks said,
"You didn't want me then. But, you know, I'm not sure I want to do this."
Frederick Douglass wrote this, and this banner was used in a parade in Philadelphia to convince free blacks to participate in the war.
And what I love about it is, you know, it's a call to arms, right? But, my favorite line is,
"Are freemen less brave than slaves?"
And so, what it did is, it really encouraged people, so that by the end of the war, 250,000 African-Americans participated in the war.
>> This for me is one of the most striking elements of the Civil War.
The fact that slaves, free black men fought and died for the idea of democracy that they had been so deprived of
>> Exactly. And the notion that freedom was given is wrong.
Freedom was earned um through their sacrifices.
And so, I just think that this is a powerful broadside
that says many things about who we once were, and inspires me to think about who we can be, no matter what's happening.
>> Well, let's keep walking because there are more remarkable artifacts here.
One that I have to say is near and dear to my heart as we approach this, which is the NBC News fireside chat microphone.
>> One of the things that I think is so powerful about America is one of our aspirations is hope.
I mean, the notion of in the Great Depression, America worried about is it going to survive?
And suddenly you have FDR utilizing the newest technologies of the day, and basically coming into people's homes and giving them hope, Saying that we we can do this together. And so for me, when I
think of a single object that speaks of hope, nothing more than the NBC microphone.
>> And he delivered FDR delivered more than 30 fireside chats.
And this was really a new way for a president to communicate with the American people.
>> There had been, you know, the radio was used by Calvin Coolidge and Hoover, but they didn't use it effectively the way he did.
He realized that the radio allowed him to go into people's homes,
to act as if he is right next to them and telling them the story. And so the way he did these, he always began by
talking about how my fellow American
>> And this microphone at the time especially really about bringing the country together.
>> Absolutely. And I think that's one of the most powerful things about hope is that no matter the challenge, America has an opportunity to sort of come together, find hope, find common ground.
At least that's what I believe.
>> We thank you for watching and remember
stay updated on breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or watch live on our YouTube channel.
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