
On July 2, 1931, the venerable United States Frigate Constitution left Boston on a three-year, goodwill tour that would make 90 stops, including 76 United States ports, cover 22,000 miles and entertain more than 4.6 million visitors to the ship. After completing a six-year restoration, financed in part by the pennies, nickels and dimes of school children, Secretary of the Navy Charles F. Adams started the tour with an invitation to those children and the rest of the nation.