In this episode, 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.
This program was streamed live on May 6, 2026, as part of the NCC's Book Club Series.
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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
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
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