American Legacy

Issues: Freedom and the right to self-government, power of constitutional government, integration of diverse populations and America as a beacon for liberty.

The United States of America was the first modern representative democracy guaranteed by a written constitution. Our founding fathers envisioned the United States as a beacon for liberty based on government by the people, of the people, and for the people. Today, most of the world?s powerful nations and more than 100 other countries have adapted our unique system of representative democracy to their cultures.

What lessons have we learned since the penning of the Declaration of Independence? In a global world defined less and less by geography and more and more by economies, culture, and vision for the future, can representative democracies be sustained? What is the balance between personal liberty and the good of the community?

Some of the answers to these questions can be found in American Legacy, a week-long study of the events and peoples who shaped the United States and its government. You will begin by exploring how Native American, European, and African cultures contributed to modern democratic ideals. You?ll be briefed by leading historians, members of Congress, and career public servants ? the men and women whose job it is to sustain the working of our democracy. Your Fact Finding visits will take you to the halls where the voices for freedom first cried out and where, today, the country?s future is hotly debated.

Intense discussions with other members of American Legacy will help you hone your own philosophy of self-government. Through American Government, you will come to better understand your responsibilities and rights as a citizen of the country and the world. The perceptions you develop will enhance your ability to lead, perhaps as president of your class or student government.

Fact-Finding Tours:

• Jamestown ? first sustained European community
• House of Burgess - Williamsburg
• Mount Vernon ? George Washington?s estate
• Monticello ? Thomas Jefferson?s plantation
• U.S. House of Representatives ? the forum for democracy?s future