Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Still Matters

Run time: 1 hour

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward Larson discusses his newest book, Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Still Matters. This book traces the idea of American independence in one pivotal year—1776—and explores why this year continues to hold significance today. Watch on America's Town Hall

This program is generously sponsored by Citizen Travelers, the nonpartisan civic engagement initiative of Travelers.

Silence in Order to Listen

Run time: 26 minutes

Jeffrey Rosen, filmmaker Ken Burns, and scholar Robert P. George explore Benjamin Franklin’s virtue of silence, which he defines as “speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.” Plus, we share some big and small changes that listeners have made. Listen now on Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness

Pursuit: The Founders’ Guide to Happiness is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more

Passenger pigeons, eels were on the Founding Fathers' Thanksgiving menu

by NCC Staff | Read time: 2 minutes

“Do you think the Founding Fathers observed Thanksgiving by eating turkey, dressing, and green bean casserole? In reality, there were a few things on the menu we wouldn’t see today, including an extinct bird and some slimy fish. ... ” Read more

Was Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation the first Executive Order?

by Scott Bomboy | Read time: 3 minutes

“Americans celebrate a Thanksgiving holiday that has its roots in colonial traditions. But was that holiday created by the first executive order issued by a President? The answer to that question is no one really knows for sure. ... ” Read more

The Hill: This Thanksgiving, skip the discord and spark civic curiosity

by Julie Silverbrook | Read time: 4 minutes

“Thanksgiving has always been more than a meal. From George Washington’s 1789 proclamation calling for a national day of ‘public thanksgiving and prayer’ to Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 appeal for a war-torn nation to ‘set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise,’ the holiday has always carried a civic purpose.

It reminds us that gratitude is not only personal; it is public. It is a moment to give thanks for the shared ideals that bind us together as ‘We the People.’ … " Read more

Article II, Section 1

“The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.

He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.”

Read interpretations in the Interactive Constitution

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