Description

JCCC's CoLab and American Public Square are proud to partner and host “Self Evident Truths - Grading the Declaration of Independence's Legacy at 250”.

How are we living up to our founding principles in contemporary America?

As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this panel invites a candid reexamination of its legacy.

Channeling the spirit of the document’s original authors, each panelist will be asked to grade how well the United States has lived up to the Declaration’s ideals and where we’ve fallen short.

From lofty principles like equality and the consent of the governed to the document’s lesser known but timely grievances against King George III, this discussion will explore how the Declaration resonates in modern America centuries later.

This event aims to move beyond celebration or cynicism and offer a constructive report card on American democracy, 250 years in the making.

Panelists include Dr. Lindsay Cherveinsky, Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library, Akhil Reed Amar, Professor at Yale University, and Yuval Levin, Director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute and former member of the White House domestic policy staff under President George W. Bush and will be moderated by Nadine Strossen, Professor at New York Law School and past President of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Get tickets here: https://www.jccc.edu/midwest-trust-center/events/2025-2026/self-evident-truths.html