Multi-Day Seminars

Spring Break Seminar: How the Declaration Made America: Relic, Symbol, and Object

The Declaration of Independence is not just America’s founding document. A call for both liberty and equality, the Declaration above all is the great expression of national unity. Over 250 years, the Declaration has been the inspiration for every political and social movement in U.S. history.

Yale undergraduates and graduate students are invited to apply for the spring break seminar, “How the Declaration Made America: Relic, Symbol, and Object,” with the Hoover Institution’s Payson J. Treat Distinguished Research Fellow Michael Auslin. The seminar will take place at the Buckley offices in New Haven from Wednesday, March 18, through Friday, March 20, and take an in depth look at this seminal document in American history.

In the years since its publication in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was celebrated by settlers clearing the wilderness, used to turn masses of immigrants into citizens, appealed to by abolitionists and suffragettes, and invoked in the struggle against fascism and totalitarianism as well as by separatists at home. It was made into a powerful cultural image by skilled artists and commercial advertisers, tale tellers and producers of mass entertainment alike.

The seminar will take place at the Buckley Institute Office in New Haven, with select portions at the Yale Art Gallery and Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscripts Library. Participants will be expected to complete a moderate amount of reading prior to the seminar. Students will receive free course materials, lunch and dinner will be provided for the duration of the seminar, and those who complete the full seminar will be eligible to receive a $150 stipend.

Applications are due by February 13, 2026.

For any questions, reach out to moe@buckleyinstitute.com

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