After two years of whirlwind work, National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America is finally available. It launches this week, starting with a kick-off event at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, moderated by GBH’s Arun Rath, at 7 PM on Tuesday, May 5. If you’re in the Boston area, please join!
The book itself will be available starting May 5, and I’m flattered that Amazon named it an Editor’s Pick in “best history” books for May. If you haven’t ordered, please do! This Simon & Schuster page gives several sites where you can place an order. If you are interested in bulk orders (and who isn’t?), both Porchlight and Bulk Books have excellent deals.
If you’re in or visiting DC, you can also buy the book at the gift shops in the National Archives, Library of Congress, and at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Air & Space Museum, and Natural History Museum, as well as at Mount Vernon and Monticello.
To whet your appetite, The Washington Post has just excerpted part of the Centennial chapter (this is a gift article link; it just requires an email, but is not a sign-up). It’s a particular favorite of mine, and is one of the chapters where the Declaration’s commercial and cultural role was particularly prominent, not unlike the merch sold today at America250 and other sites. And, you can already listen to some podcast discussions at the White House Historical Association, National Review and The Spectator, with more coming.
(National Treasure in front of the national treasure, at the National Archives; note the infamous handprint in the lower lefthand corner.)
All told, there are something on the order of 50 different events for National Treasure, whether in-person, online, or recorded, including a number of invite-only events. Some already took place, such as at George Washington University and the University of Virginia, but there are many more.
Some of the upcoming highlights, in addition to the JFK Library event, include (all time Eastern, unless otherwise noted):
May 3 (today!), “Book Breaks,” Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (live online), 2 PM
May 6, National Constitution Center Book Club (live online), 12 PM
May 7, George Washington Presidential Library, Mount Vernon, 7 PM
May 9, Politics and Prose (Washington, DC), 5 PM
May 26, Hoover Institution at Stanford, 4:30 PM Pacific (hybrid)
May 27, Richard Nixon Presidential Library (Yorba Linda, CA), 7 PM Pacific
June 4, Foreign Policy Research Institute (Philadelphia) (announcement coming soon)
June 9, Carpenters Hall (Philadelphia) (announcement coming soon)
June 11, National Archives (Washington, DC) (announcement coming soon)
June 18, Hoover Institution (Washington DC) (announcement coming soon)
June 25, American Revolution Institute, Society of the Cincinnati (Washington, DC), 6:30 PM
July 1, Bryant Park Reading Room (NYC) (announcement coming soon)
July 16, Capital Jewish Museum (Washington DC), 6:30 PM (hybrid)
August 3, Smithsonian Associates Program (live online) (announcement coming soon)
August 19, David Center for the American Revolution, American Philosophical Society (Washington’s Crossing, PA), 7 PM (hybrid)
I’ll also be taping an episode of “History with David Rubenstein” for PBS, and C-SPAN may be covering one of the talks. More events are being added, and there will also be many podcasts over the next months. If you’re interested in hosting or suggesting an event or media opportunity, please reach out to me at auslin@stanford.edu. If you like National Treasure (or even the idea of it), please spread the word on social media.
I hope National Treasure becomes part of your America 250 celebration.
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