In honor of America's 250th anniversary, BYU history professor Tyson Reeder, with support from the Wheatley Institute, taught a semester-long history course on the Declaration of Independence. As a culminating learning experience, the entire class, which included several Wheatley Scholars, traveled to key historical sites associated with the Declaration in Virginia, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia.
Students toured Monticello, saw the original Declaration of Independence, visited Independence Hall, and learned more about the deep and complex history behind the Declaration and how each historical site presents in American public memory.
Leading up to the experience, students studied the intellectual, political and historical background of the Declaration, researching how places, events, and figures influenced the American founding, and how that legacy affects life down to the present day.
"I’ve come to feel strongly that these founding principles cannot be treated as something static," remarked Madison Curtis, 2026 Wheatley Scholar.
"In this being 'America’s' document, that also makes it 'our' document, and it is up to us what we do with it and how we choose to uphold it now. As disciples of Jesus Christ, I feel it is our honor to do that now more than ever, to stand steadfast in the liberty in which Christ has made all of us free, and to seek to pursue the happiness that is inherent in the gospel."