Michael Auslin joins to discuss his new book, National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America, a sweeping and vivid history of the Declaration of Independence from its drafting to its enduring role in American life today. Tracing the remarkable journey of this iconic document—from a Philadelphia boarding house to wartime hiding places and its place as a national symbol—Auslin explores how its ideals of liberty and equality have inspired generations and continue to shape the American experiment. Thomas Donnelly, lead scholar at the National Constitution Center, moderates.
Video
Podcast
Participants
Michael Auslin is the Payson J. Treat Distinguished Research Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Prior to that, he was an associate professor of history at Yale University. He wrote National Treasure as a distinguished visiting scholar at the Library of Congress’s John W. Kluge Center and an American Heritage Partners Fellow at the Society of the Cincinnati’s American Revolution Institute.
Thomas Donnelly is lead scholar at the National Constitution Center. Prior to joining the Center in 2016, he served as counsel at the Constitutional Accountability Center, as a Climenko Fellow and lecturer on law at Harvard Law School, and as a law clerk for Judge Thomas Ambro on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Additional Resources
- Michael Auslin, National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America
- National Constitution Center, Interactive Declaration of Independence
Excerpt from interview: Michael Auslin on the claim on unity represented in the Declaration of Independence.
Michael Auslin: What I came to understand, at least in my own way of approaching the document, is that as important and true as both the liberty and equality claims are, over them, I see another feature of the document, another claim, and that is a unity claim. That this is really our great statement of unity as Americans. That, in fact, if you read it, the very first line says, “when in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to declare independence.” Jefferson originally wrote, “a people,” and most likely we believe it was Ben Franklin who changed that to “one people.”… Near the end, the signers pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. They didn’t pledge it to the new country. They didn’t pledge it to their sovereign states. They pledged it to each other. And so I think from the beginning, there was a message of civic unity and civic assimilation.
Full Transcript
View Transcript (PDF)
This transcript may not be in its final form, accuracy may vary, and it may be updated or revised in the future.
Stay Connected and Learn More
- Questions or comments about the show? Email us at [email protected]
- Continue the conversation by following us on social media@ConstitutionCtr
- Explore the America at 250 Civic Toolkit
- Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate
- Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen
- Join us for an upcoming live program or watch recordings on YouTube
- Support our important work
