The year was 2001

• Almost 3,000 are killed in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York City, N.Y., and elsewhere
• The United States invades Afghanistan

Meanwhile . . .

They are the words that built a nation. . .

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government . . . ”

-- The U.S. Declaration of Independence

Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is the United States' most cherished symbol of liberty. With exacting language and enduring emotion, Jefferson summarized the convictions that beat in the hearts of all Americans as he enumerated grievances against the King and justified before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and England.

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“We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

-- The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution

In 1787, the Constitutional Convention established a new government for America. The Constitution speaks to such issues as how much power to allow the central government, how many representatives in Congress to allow each state and how these representatives should be elected. The Constitution stands as a model of cooperative statesmanship and the art of compromise.

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“The Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.”

-- The Preamble to the U.S. Bill of Rights

Opponents to the Constitution repeatedly charged that the document, as drafted, would open the way to tyranny by the central government. They demanded a "bill of rights" that would spell out the irrevocable rights of the individual citizen. On Sept. 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights. They institutionalized the protection of such fundamental freedoms as religion, assembly, free speech, due process of law and more.

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Every American schoolchild has read or seen these opening words. They are the words that protect U.S. citizens. But who protects the words? Diebold does.

The originals of the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights – together known as the Charters of Freedom – are all protected by Diebold in the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C.

To do so is an honor as much as it is a responsibility, Diebold associates agree.

Diebold’s involvement in the Charters project was announced in October 2001. We were asked to construct three customized, high-tech vaults to protect the Charters as the centerpiece of a massive overhaul of the building’s security system. The transformation also included a redesign of the permanent exhibit cases to allow all four pages of the U.S. Constitution to be prominently displayed, as they are today.

Diebold’s specially designed vaults and doors used the latest technology possible to protect the Charters from theft, assault and environmental wear. Project details, understandably, remain confidential.

Our company’s long history of safeguarding everything from currency to the world’s most precious gems obviously suited us to the task.

In addition to the vaults, we also installed a state-of-the-art physical security system for the Charters. It includes a customized retraction system that allows the documents to be displayed during the day, then moved into the safety of a secure vault overnight. In case of an emergency, the system will quickly retract into the vault in seconds – without vibration, so as not to shake ink from the parchment – when activated by security personnel.