By The National Trust for Historic Preservation
As the United States of America approaches its 250th anniversary, we are reflecting on the ideals that shaped the nation and the ongoing work of realizing them. Among the most enduring is the Declaration of Independence’s promise that “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights….” Yet the history of the United States is also the story of how generations of Americans have debated, challenged, expanded, and fought to define what those words mean in practice. Read more here