A Conversation on America’s 250th

Run time: 57 minutes

In this episode, Sabrina Lynn Motley, director of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, discuss how their institutions are celebrating America’s 250th birthday. This conversation took place at Chautauqua Institution 2025 Summer Assembly. Listen now

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August 23, 1784: The state of Franklin starts its brief existence

by NCC Staff | Read time: 2 minutes

“On August 23, 1784, the self-proclaimed state of Franklin broke away from North Carolina and attempted an experiment at self-rule, in a dispute over land grants and sovereignty. …” Read more

August 24, 1814: The British set fire to Washington, D.C.

by NCC Staff | Read time: 3 minutes

“The United States capital of Washington, D.C., burned on August 24, 1814, but it may have been an act of nature that forced the British from the besieged city. …” Read more

The Takeout: Jeffrey Rosen on Executive Power

National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen appears on CBS's The Takeout with Major Garrett to discuss views of executive power from the founding to now and other current constitutional questions. Read more

Preamble

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Read interpretations in the Interactive Constitution

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