As the 250th anniversary of Jefferson's Declaration of Independence approaches, and in the midst of a charged presidential election, Americans are thinking deeply about the relationships between our founding documents and our peoplehood.
In a vibrant conversation, New York Times opinion columnist and public historian Jamelle Bouie, Princeton scholar Dame Linda Colley, and Monticello's president Dr. Jane Kamensky discuss how - and whether - declarations and constitutions make nations.
Bouie, Colley, and Kamensky explore volatile moments, both past and present, in the political lives of Americans and Britons. Both are polities in process. How can attention to our historical and constitutional foundations inform our present and guide our future?
Held on Monticello's West Lawn on October 24, 2024