The National Constitution Center recently published The Promise of America: Reflections on Our Enduring Ideals (Simon & Schuster), a keepsake collection of essays bringing together leading thinkers from across perspectives to reflect on the ideals at the heart of the American experiment and what those principles have meant across generations of American life. In this episode, Professor David Armitage discusses his essay, “The Declaration’s Influence Around the World,” which explores the document’s international legacy as a powerful blueprint for collective rights and national self-determination, and its ever-evolving domestic legacy as a touchstone for individual rights and human equality. Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates.
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This episode was produced and mixed by Bill Pollock. With production support from Charles Sahm. Research was provided by Anna Salvatore, Trey Sullivan, and Tristan Worsham.
Participants
David Armitage is the Lloyd C. Blankfein Professor of History, Chair of the Committee on Degrees in Social Studies and former Chair of the Department of History at Harvard University. He has edited and authored numerous works, including Civil Wars: A History in Ideas and The Declaration of Independence: A Global History.
Julie Silverbrook is chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, where she leads the strategy, development, and delivery of the Center’s content, public programs, and educational initiatives, advancing its mission of nonpartisan constitutional education and civil dialogue. She oversees the creation of public-facing constitutional content and works to ensure the Center’s programs, scholarly engagement, and educational resources operate as a coordinated national strategy serving students, educators, families, and lifelong learners across the country.
Additional Resources
- David Armitage, “The Declaration’s Influence Around the World”
- National Constitution Center, The Declaration of Independence
- Lemuel Haynes, “Liberty Further Extended” (1776)
- Vermont Declaration of Independence (1777)
- French Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789)
- Haitian Declaration of Independence (1804)
- Venezuelan Declaration of Independence (1811)
- Greek Declaration of Independence (1822)
- Belgian Declaration of Independence (1830)
- New Zealand Declaration of Independence (1835)
- Texas Declaration of Independence (1836)
- Liberia Declaration of Independence (1847)
- Declaration of Sentiments (1848)
- Hungary Declaration of Independence (1849)
- Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1945)
- Israel Declaration of Independence (1948)
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
- Unilateral Declaration of Independence of Southern Rhodesia (1965)
- The Black Declaration of Independence (1970)
- Kosovo Declaration of Independence (2008)
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