Editors Note

It is a privilege to share this work with you. The pages that follow have emerged from the contributors’ years of scholarship, conversation, and engagement with foundational questions of the American Republic: What does it mean to be a founded republic? What defines American citizenship? How do we teach and extend the ideas that established America?

The Civitas Institute hopes that this book will encourage thoughtful inquiry and even more reading about the Declaration and the American founding. This volume does not propose easy conclusions but rather the enduring work of informed citizenship. At a time when the loudest voices of our political and educational disorder often crowd out the most important sources of learning, Civitas believes we serve the common good best by returning to first principles — clarifying who we are as a constitutional people, and how we might build a future worthy of our inheritance.

If these chapters inspire you to think more carefully, to question more honestly, or to recommit yourself to the responsibilities and the adventure of American citizenship, then this project will have achieved its purpose.

We are grateful you have chosen to join this conversation.

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