THE BESTOF AMERICA

INDIANA CONFERENCE ON CITIZENSHIP

SEPT 17, 2020 | THURSDAY | 10 AM

T H E 6 T H A N N U A L

Hosted by Sagamore Institute

CITIZENSHIP IN T IMES OF CRISIS

www.sagamoreinstitute.org

P R O G R A M10:00 AM

10:45 AM

9/11 and the Heart of the Nation

John Bridgeland

1 1 :00 AM

Indiana in the Nation's Service

Dr. Leslie Lenkowsky

1 1 : 15 AM

Adjourn

Presentation of the Celebrating

American Ideas Award

Jaylon Smith

1 1 :30 AM

Preview - Some Books Make Us

Free Art Project

Alexandra Hudson

t’s a republic, if you can keep it.” Benjamin Franklin spoke these words to a woman standing outside the Philadelphia great hall where the US Constitution was being written. She wanted to know what type of government was beingcreated for the people. He answered with an ideal and a challenge, as Lincoln laterput it—a government for the people to be upheld by the better angels of ournature. 

So how are our better angels faring? We selected Constitution Day—September 17—as the date for this conference so that we could take stock of Franklin’sadmonition and rally together as citizens to see if we can not only keep it butcontinue to make a perfect Union. 

As we convene, the coronavirus continues its global march wreaking havoc on ourhealth and our economy. Racial protests are giving voice to injustices that havepersisted too long and the pain that resides in economic immobility. 

Our program focuses squarely on these threats to our republic by seeking answersin both historic and current responses to national crisis. John Bridgeland will tell usabout a US President who chose citizen action as remedy to the wounds of 9/11. Les Lenkowsky will share a similar story about Indiana’s contribution to nationalservice. And then Lexi Hudson will offer insights into historic texts and modern artdepicting the role of protest in a good society. 

We are also honored to announce that our Celebrating American Ideas Award willbe awarded to Jaylon Smith of the Dallas Cowboys. Jaylon is using his NFL platformto close the economic and educational gap for minority entrepreneurs. There is nobetter idea for healing America’s race wound than by closing the wealth disparityamong our citizens.

AS THE RX FOR NATIONAL CRISIS

JAY F. HEIN

PRESIDENT, SAGAMORE INST ITUTE

I

C I T I Z E N S

R E N E W I N G T H E A M E R I C A N I D E A

The American experiment stands apart from every other political project in history. WhatAbraham Lincoln called our “edifice of liberty and equal rights” is predicated on the faith ourfounding fathers placed in human agency and equality, and in a transcendent order governedby the laws of nature and nature’s God. History moves not by chance but by human action;progress emerges not from labyrinthian bureaucracies but from community innovation.

Ours is a precious inheritance. But it is not guaranteed. Popular government can only endure inthe presence of popular participation. It requires that we learn our freedoms so we can cherishthem, and exercise them in a manner consistent with the order of nature. It also requires thatwe actively seek the flourishing of our neighbors and communities. In a word, it requires self-governance.

These are the duties of citizenship, and this is the radical value proposition of Americanrepublicanism: a free people can govern itself.

WWW.SAGAMOREINSTITUTE.ORG/CITIZENSHIP/RENEWING-THE-AMERICAN-IDEA

WANT TO BECOME A BETTER CITIZEN? Sagamore's Renewing the American Idea is an online resource to teach and explore

citizenship through connection with our nation's great texts.

SEPTEMBER 1 1TH AND THE USA FREEDOM CORPS

John Bridgeland knows a thing or twoabout citizenship in times of nationalcrisis. In 1993, his wife and daughtersurvived the World Trade Centerparking garage bombing. Eight yearslater, Bridgeland, then the director ofGeorge W. Bush’s Domestic PolicyCouncil, was at a meeting near theWhite House when Islamic terroristscrashed into the North and SouthTowers of the World Trade Center.President Bush responded to the attackon America with an initiative thatintended to remind the nation what itmeans to be an American. And hechose Bridgeland to helm what wouldbecome the USA Freedom Corps.   Bridgeland recounts the developmentof the USA Freedom Corps (USAFC) inhis book, Serviceto neighbor, he argues, is necessary forhuman happiness and for sustainingpopular government. It is also our dutyas American citizens.

USA Freedom Corps was the last timethe nation significantly grew nationalservice opportunities—it expandedAmeriCorps by 50 percent, Peace Corpsto the highest levels in four decades,doubled Senior Corps programs, andcreated a citizen preparednessinfrastructure through Medical ReserveCorps, Volunteers in Police Service, FireCorps, Community EmergencyResponse Teams and Citizen CorpsCouncils to coordinate local, state andfederal efforts.  Volunteering in theUnited States also grew for five yearsafter 9/11 and the new Volunteering inthe United States Survey was put intoplace to measure and report on suchvolunteering for the first time.

Presidential initiatives like AmeriCorpsand Senior Corps already providedfinancial and logistical support forAmericans wanting to devote years at atime to professional volunteer work.Bridgeland’s hope was to encourage

Heart of the Nation.

Americans of all vocations to serve theircommunities in the places where their liveshappened—in schools, in churches, inworkplaces, and in neighborhoods.

The Obama and Trump administrations havemaintained volunteer.gov, which still servesas a volunteer clearinghouse. In addition, theWhite House Office of Faith-Based andCommunity Initiatives continues to supportchurches, religious organizations, and localgroups working to better theirneighborhoods.  For Bridgeland, American citizenship meansservice. But it also means understanding theprinciples at the heart of America itself.Paired with President Bush’s post 9/11 call toservice was the call to civic literacy. “Ourenemies hate these words,” Bush said of thePledge of Allegiance in a speech to a schoolin Nashville. The answer? “Teach ourchildren to love our nation as much as wedo.”

Bridgeland’s Freedom Corps work expandedto include American history programming.Longtime civics advocates like DavidMcCullough and Amy Kass became allies infurnishing teachers across America withtools to share our nation’s story. The NationalArchives assisted in selecting andshowcasing 100 milestone documents,beginning with the 1776 Lee Resolution forindependence from Great Britain and endingwith the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

As part of the Our Documents project, votersnamed the Declaration of Independence themost important document in American

President George W. Bush established theUSA Freedom Corps on January 30, 2002 andJohn Bridgeland served as its first Director.

history. Embedded in Jefferson’s words,Bridgeland believes, is the premise thatservice and civic memory are mutuallyreinforcing: “The Declaration ofIndependence is an argument for self-government, an argument for citizens to beengaged with their government and in thelives of their communities to serve thepublic interest and to protect the freedomsthey are entitled by God to enjoy,” he writesin

Social scientist Robert Putnam said theUnited States has an opportunity “once ortwice a century” to renew civicparticipation. The World War II generationvolunteered more, attended church morefrequently, and voted more than thegenerations preceding and succeeding it.Bridgeland cites this research, musing thatthe silver lining of national tragedy is itsability to “awaken the country out of itscivic slumber.”

Renewal might be rare, but, in Bridgeland’sestimation, it happens through Americans’everyday associations. The churches,schools, and neighborhoods—whatEdmund Burke called the “little platoons” ofhuman organization—have the largest roleto play in fostering social cooperation.Government should empower theseinstitutions as they make space for theirmembers to serve each other and thecommon good.

According to Bridgeland, in doing so, we’llnot only become better people, but betterAmericans.

Heart of the Nation.

John Bridgeland is Founder and CEO of Civic, a social enterprise firm in Washington,D.C. He is also Vice Chairman of the Service Year Alliance, an initiative to create a civiliannational service counterpart to military service in the United States; Vice Chairman ofMalaria No More; Co-Convenor of the GradNation campaign; Co-Chair of the Future ofWork Initiative; and Co-Founder of the High Seas Initiative. He is also author of the book,"Heart of the Nation: Volunteering and America's Civic Spirit", which was reissued inpaperback on the 15th anniversary of 9/11 with a foreword by General StanleyMcChrystal and is studied on college campuses.

In 2010, President Obama appointed Bridgeland to the White House Council forCommunity Solutions, where he authored the report “Opportunity Road: The Promiseand Challenge of America’s Forgotten Youth." Bridgeland previously served as Directorof the White House Domestic Policy Council in the first term of President George W.Bush, where he coordinated policy on more than 100 issues, and then as Assistant to thePresident of the United States and first Director of the USA Freedom Corps, where hecoordinated policy on international, national, community, and faith-based service in theaftermath of 9/11. He co-chaired the White House Task Force on the Revitalization ofNew York City after 9/11. Bridgeland also co-led the Policy Transition for the President-elect in 2000-2001. 

Bridgeland co-authored the book, "Teaching America: The Case for Civic Education" ledthe White House Summit on American History, Civics and Service, and worked with theNational Archives to develop Our Documents to promote understanding of 100important documents in American history. He testified before the National Academy ofSciences on his post-9/11 efforts to increase civic engagement.

Bridgeland also was a co-convener of ServiceNation, a Presidential forum with SenatorsJohn McCain and Barack Obama on September 11, 2008, and a national summit thatshowcased a comprehensive plan to increase community, national, and internationalservice opportunities. The plan generated a TIME cover story and was included in theEdward M. Kennedy Serve America Act led by Senator Orrin Hatch, which was signedinto law within the first 100 days of the Obama Administration.

FOUNDER & CEO, CIVIC

J O H N B R I D G E L A N D

Heart of the Nation: Volunteering and America's Civic Spirit,

Opportunity Road: The Promise and Challenge of America’s Forgotten Youth.

Teaching America: The Case for Civic Education

At the Sagamore Institute, we value innovative ideas that are put into action withlasting results. The Indiana Citizen blog series is dedicated to highlighting thoseIndiana citizens who have enriched our communities through their innovation,investment, and hard work.

By sharing their stories, we aim to encourage all people of Indiana and theUnited States to put their gifts and talents into action as we consider how wecan not only better our local communities, but also our state and country. Weinvite you to explore these inspiring citizenship stories.

T H E I N D I A N A C I T I Z E N

WWW.SAGAMOREINSTITUTE.ORG/CITIZENSHIP/INDIANA-CITIZEN

SAGAMORE MAKES CITIZENSHIP CORE TO OURMISSION AND ITS FOUNDERS SELECTED INDIANA ASTHE THINK TANK'S HQ BECAUSE THE STATE IS IN THE

BUSINESS OF BUILDING BETTER CITIZENS

At Sagamore, we celebrate Indiana's rich civic heritage by highlighting theinnovation and character of fellow Hoosiers. See what these exemplary citizenshave to say about their civic duty.

sagamore_institute "I'm anencourager, which serves me well inbuilding community. I like to connectpeople, I like to empower people, andthere’s nothing more gratifying thanhaving folks...see hope for the future oftheir community and realize they arebeing listened to, being valued."

-JEFF SPARKS, Senior Fellow atSagamore Institute, Founder ofHeartland Film Festival, and formerChairman of the Twin Aire Committee

sagamore_institute "Everyone hassomething to contribute to where welive. Everyone! It doesn’t matter wherethey come from."

-ASTER BEKELE, Founder andExecutive Director of Felege HiywotCenter

C I T I Z E N S P O T L I G H T

FOLLOW US SAGAMORE_INST ITUTE

sagamore_institute "A city, like aperson, is work in progress.” Part of thatprogress is “making a place at the tablefor all types of people to learn aboutdifferences and to educate themselvesabout each other.”

-KANWAL PRAKASH SINGH, Two-timerecipient of the Sagamore of theWabash

sagamore_institute “I have aresponsibility to contribute as acommunity member to grow anothergeneration of leadership in mycommunity.”

-JOANNA TAFT, Founder of HarrisonCenter for the Arts

WHAT DO PEYTON MANNING, DAVID LETTERMAN, AND JANEPAULEY HAVE IN COMMON?

These three national figures have all called Indiana home. Each of them has beenawarded the Sagamore of the Wabash in recognition of their civic contributions toour state.

INDIANA UNIVERSITY IN THE NATION'S SERVICE

Researchers and historians wanting toknow more about civic service andvolunteerism in America will soon beable to turn to new archives at IUPUI.

The National Service Archives, acollection within the Ruth Lilly SpecialCollections and Archives at UniversityLibrary, will be filled with documents notavailable elsewhere that tell the storiesof civic service and volunteerism inAmerica.

Items include documents from theCorporation for National and CommunityService; papers from leaders like Sen.Harris Wofford, who helped create thePeace Corps and AmeriCorps; andstories and documents from volunteersthemselves.

"It will be the one and only place to find

materials like these," said LeslieLenkowsky, a former chief executiveofficer for the Corporation for NationalCommunity Service and an IU professoremeritus. His papers will also be part ofthe collection.

To mark the creation of the collection, IUheld a panel discussion featuringLenkowsky, IU President EmeritusThomas Ehrlich, former CEO and co-founder of Service Year Alliance ShirleySagawa, and IU and AmeriCorps alumnaKathy Souchet-Downey, who is theimmigration and grants liaison for Rep.Andre Carson.

Former Indianapolis mayor StephenGoldsmith, also a former board chair ofthe Corporation for National andCommunity Service, moderated thepanel discussion.  IU President Michael

A. McRobbie and IUPUI ChancellorNasser H. Paydar also deliveredremarks.

The archives' creation and the paneldiscussion also tie into the university'sBicentennial celebrations, whichLenkowsky said came together nicelybecause of IU's long history ofcommunity service.

While University Library has long had aphilanthropic studies archive, the ideafor a broader archive started withEhrlich, who was one of the people whoapproached Lenkowsky with the idea.

"Nobody thought about creating anarchive before this, but now thatAmeriCorps is a mature program withmore than a million people who'veserved and that has a presence inAmerican life, there is a lot of scholarlyinterest," he said, noting that this year isthe program's 25th anniversary.

Lenkowsky added that there is a lot ofdiscussion about a loss of communityand polarization in the country, and civicservice and volunteering is one way to

The America's Promise wagon was an icon of theAmerica's Promise Alliance, founded by Colin Powell in1997. Photo by MJ Slaby, Indiana University

This photo of the commission that led to the foundingof the Corporation for National and CommunityService was given to IU President Emeritus ThomasEhrlich and is part of the National ServiceArchives. Photo by MJ Slaby, Indiana University

combat that. And the archives will be aplace to learn the lessons of whatworked and what didn't in the past.

In addition to the documents and itemsalready gathered for the collection, thehope is that other organizationssponsoring national service will donateto it so it can continue to build out withdocuments, photographs and oralhistories.

"Like other service organizations,AmeriCorps has come a long way, andthere are all kinds of documents toshow that path," Lenkowsky said.

"The good news is that 1 million haveserved, 5,000 organizations have beencreated, and the footprint is there," hesaid. "The bad news is, there couldalways be more." 

--

A version of this article by MJ Slaby was

published on the IU.edu website on Sept

19, 2019.

Dr. Leslie Lenkowsky is professor of practice in the Paul H. O'Neill School of Public andEnvironmental Affairs at Indiana University and a member of the philanthropic studiesfaculty of the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. He teaches courses onphilanthropy, nonprofit organizations, social entrepreneurship, civil society around theworld, and public policy.

Dr. Lenkowsky returned to the university in January 2004 after stepping down as chiefexecutive officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service, a position towhich he was appointed by President George W. Bush in October 2001. Before joiningthe Bush Administration, Dr. Lenkowsky was professor of philanthropic studies andpublic policy at IUPUI. From 1990 to 1997, he served as president of the HudsonInstitute, an internationally renowned public policy research institute. Dr. Lenkowsky hasalso served as president of the Institute for Educational Affairs, deputy director of theUnited States Information Agency, research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute,and research director at the Smith Richardson Foundation.

A graduate of Franklin and Marshall College, Dr. Lenkowsky received his doctorate fromHarvard University. His writing has appeared in such publications as Commentary, TheWeekly Standard, The Wall Street Journal, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy. He hasspoken frequently to educational and philanthropic groups throughout the UnitedStates and internationally.

D R . L E S L I E L E N K O W S K Y

Civil Society in Comparative PerspectiveCommunications for Nonprofit andPublic AffairsPrinciples and Practices of SocialEntrepreneurshipTraditions: What is Government For?Capstone

COURSES TAUGHTSocial entrepreneurshipPublic policy and philanthropyCivil societyVolunteering

RESEARCH INTERESTS

THE NATIONAL SERVICE

ARCHIVES

America’s Promise Alliance records

Borne of a 1997 declaration by all then-living presidents that American children neededthick community to flourish, America’s Promise Alliance seeks to connect youth torelational, educational, and volunteer opportunities. The Alliance, initially helmed byColin Powell, has garnered numerous commitments from civil society institutions tosupport youth at all stages of development and give them a stake in their communities.Among other items, the Alliance records contain Powell’s correspondence from his timeas chair, event photographs, and a number of America’s Promise red wagons.

The papers of David Reingold

Purdue University professor and administrator David Reingold established the IndianaUniversity School of Public Affairs’ VISTA program, which enables students to fulfillgraduate degree requirements while serving with AmeriCorps. Among Reingold’s mostnotable positions are those with the Corporation for National and Community Service,the White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth, and the Indiana Commission onCommunity Service and Volunteerism, which he currently chairs. His papers, publicly

The National Service Archives is home to a rich collection of artifacts anddocuments chronicling the history of civic service and volunteerism inAmerica. From foundational AmeriCorps documents to volunteer vignettes,explore highlights from the archives below.

accessible online, offer an insider’s perspective on all aspects of federal and stateservice program administration, from grant-writing to program evaluation.

The national service papers of Harris Wofford

Days before the presidential election of 1960, future U.S. Senator Harris Woffordconvinced then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy to call Coretta Scott King whenher husband was jailed. The call gave new life to the Civil Rights Movement. Woffordalso helped establish the Peace Corps, participated in the march to Selma, andeventually ran AmeriCorps. His national service papers, currently unprocessed, fillnearly 50 record cartons.

The papers of Les Lenkowsky

Les Lenkowsky spent over a decade with the Corporation for National and CommunityService, first helping to create the corporation and later serving two years as its CEO.Lenkowsky’s advocacy for civil engagement has continued through his work at IndianaUniversity, where he teaches philanthropic studies and public policy. His papers containover twenty years of history of CNCS, including meeting minutes, promotionalmaterials, and correspondence with elected officials.

The papers of Shirley Sagawa

Service Year Alliance CEO Shirley Sagawa has been dubbed founding mother of themodern service movement. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush to help startwhat would become the Corporation on National and Community Service, Sagawawent on to draft the legislation establishing Senior Corps and AmeriCorps and led thelatter’s development under President Bill Clinton. Her papers, currently unprocessed,highlight the drafting and passage of the service program legislation.

Harris Wofford is seen here with President Kennedy and upon receiving the President'sCitizens Medal from President Obama.

When Indiana’s most distinguished citizens receive the Sagamore of the Wabash award, theyreceive a parchment that calls them to serve as counsel to the governor. Inaugurated in 1942by Indiana Governor Ralph F. Gates, the Sagamore of the Wabash is designed to enlist our

best minds and talents to make Indiana better.

The Society of the Sagamores is a voluntary association which facilitates this grand vision byproviding opportunities for Sagamore recipients to continue to offer their wise and soundcounsel to Indiana's leaders. Through membership in the society, Sagamores can participate indialogue with the sitting governor, past governors, and other state leaders in pursuit ofinnovative solutions to our greatest challenges.

WWW.SAGAMOREINSTITUTE.ORG/CITIZENSHIP/SOCIETY-OF-SAGAMORES

"THE HIGHEST HONOR AN INDIANA GOVERNOR GIVES IS CALLED THESAGAMORE OF THE WABASH…[IT’S] GIVEN FOR WISDOM, ANDPUBLIC COMMITMENT, AND A CONCERN FOR THE WELL-BEING OFOTHERS."

-MITCH DANIELS, FORMER INDIANA GOVERNOR

S O C I E T Y O F S A G A M O R E S

Jaylon Smith lives the American dream. A native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Jaylon's remarkable hard workand talent earned him a spot in the NFL. But for Jaylon, personally living the American dream himselfwasn't enough. When Jaylon learned that today's Black entrepreneurs access less than 2% of venturecapital in America, he took his lifelong passion for entrepreneurship and decided to do somethingabout it.

Calling it his purpose beyond athletics, Jaylon founded the Minority Entrepreneurship Institute (MEI) toclose the educational and economic gap for Black and Brown business owners. He launched the MEIlast year in Indiana and now he’s expanding its services to Texas and Florida.

Given all the racial turmoil in America, Jaylon’s MEI is the right solution at the right time. As such, theSagamore Institute has selected Jaylon Smith to receive the Celebrating American Ideas award. As thefourth recipient of the award, Jaylon joins an elite group of America's leading citizens, including theNavajo Code Talkers, IU's AMPATH-Kenya team, and Thrive Farmers.

C E L E B R A T I N G A M E R I C A N I D E A S

WWW.SAGAMOREINSTITUTE.ORG/CELEBRATING-AMERICAN-IDEAS-AWARD

"THE CELEBRATING AMERICAN IDEAS AWARD HONORS THOSE WHOTAKE BIG IDEAS AND MOVE THEM INTO BOLD ACTION."

-JAY HEIN , SAGAMORE INST ITUTE

U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

Sponsored by Sagamore Institute and hosted in partnership with the HarrisonCenter for the Arts, this year's gallery centers on themes of civil dissent andprotest. Led by Alexandra Hudson, this citizenship initiative explores themes ofcitizenship as artists reflect on and respond to original texts from the RemnantTrust collection. 

Join us and the artists as we entertain a conversation about the role and place ofdissent and protest in American civic life.

WWW.SAGAMOREINSTITUTE.ORG/2020-CITIZENSHIP-ART-GALLERY

JOIN US IN OCTOBER 2020

FOR THE SECOND ANNUAL

CITIZENSHIP GALLERY

We are living through what feels like anera of unprecedented division in ournation. We also have before us anunprecedented opportunity. 

The coronavirus crisis divided usphysically. The protests against deepracial injustices in our nation’s past andpresent have divided us furtherpolitically. All have elevated deepinequalities and exacerbated existingtensions to a breaking point. 

That is why now, more than ever, weneed a conversation about  citizenshipand American identity thatsimultaneously confronts theshortcomings of our past while revivingthe aspirations of our future.  Weurgently need a discussion of our dutiesto one another as  citizens in ourcommunity, our state, and our nation.  

This October, we are building on thesuccess of the Harrison’s first rare booksexhibit that took place July 2019. Thatinaugural exhibition brought to life thethemes of rare, original works of historyand political philosophy through art. Forinstance, we paired an original printingof the Gettysburg Address with anartist’s depiction of young AbrahamLincoln, who spent part of his childhood

AN EXHIB IT ION OF ART IST IC INTERPRETAT ION OF RARE BOOKS ATTHE HARRISON CENTER

S O M E B O O K S M A K E U S F R E E

INDIANAPOLIS, OCTOBER 2020

in  Indiana.  Another artist paired aportrait of Madam C.J. Walker—the firstfemale millionaire who was dedicated tocivil rights and empowering womeneconomically—with a original copy ofMary Wollstonecraft’s Vindication on theRights of Women, one of the firstphilosophical arguments for women’ssocial and political equality. In addition,we hosted a series of events withstudents, the  Indianapolis community,and public leaders to further bring to lifethe themes of the art and books. 

This year, we have expanded ourpartnerships to includethe  Indiana  Historical Society,the  Indiana  Bar Foundation, and othersto reach more people and newaudiences with our programming. Wewill be entering a highly divisivepresidential election, so there will beurgency for initiatives that counteractthe forces that seek to tear our nationapart. 

As such, and in light of recent events,the theme of this year’s exhibit will focuson an essential aspect of citizenship in ademocracy: political dissent. Over thelast few months we have seen tens ofthousands of people across the countryexercising their right to criticize what

Vindication on theRights of Women,

Gettysburg Address

they see as the weaknesses of ourcountry and demand change. We haveseen this through peaceful assembly,petition and protest. Many do thisbecause they love America and want tosee it do better.

But how much more effective canthese protests be when informed byhow our system of government andour institutions work? 

In October, we will use art to bring lifeto ideas around the mechanics andphilosophy of our system ofgovernment. We created a quiz thatallows people to interact with thecontent and ideas of the USnaturalization civics test. We are pairingprotestor art with rare books to showhow the ethos of the protests andpolitical dissent are manifestations ofclassical democratic ideas. Thisincludes art that recognizesachievements and learning frommistakes to the end of better living upto our founding ideals. 

We will offer visitors to the exhibit achance to interact with following rarebooks from which the commissioned artwill be inspired: an 18th century editionof the Magna Carta, an early edition of

Samuel Johnson’s famous EnglishDictionary, first edition of Jean JacqueRousseau’s  Social Contract, a firstedition of Henry David Thoreau’s work,and an original, first edition of Alexis deTocqueville’s  Democracy in America,and much more! Covid safetyprecautions will be followed. 

Our confirmed partners are the HarrisonCenter, The Sagamore Institute, TheRemnant Trust, The  Indiana  HistoricalSociety, Women4Change, andthe  Indiana Bar Foundation—all leadersin the sphere of public civics education.I hope you’ll consider partnering with usto be a leader in this importantconversation across the state. 

Thank you for joining us as we redefineand ignite long overdue conversationsabout differing American experiences,and what we have in commonas citizens in these United States.

Sagamore Institute is proud to partner with these local and national organizations insupport of the "Some Books Make Us Free" gallery.

Magna Carta

Democracy in America,

English

Social Contract,Dictionary,

THIS YEAR 'S GALLERY WILL FEATURE THE FOLLOWING HISTORIC TEXTSFROM THE REMNANT TRUST COLLECTION

F E A T U R E D T E X T S

CREATOR TITLE DATE EDITION

Founded in 2004 by Dan Coats and Jay Hein, Sagamore builds and implementsinnovative solutions to society’s biggest problems. Through research, consulting,and impact investing, we fight for a society where governments provide order,businesses improve communities, and citizens are engaged.

As a heartland think tank, we prioritize problem solving over debate and we workto ensure opportunity for all of our neighbors. Upon our 15th anniversary, wecollected 15 of our favorite stories that capture our heartland approach. Readour 15th anniversary report to catch our spirit of citizenship and innovation.

1 5 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y

WWW.SAGAMOREINSTITUTE.ORG/15-YEARS

WORKING FOR SOCIETY - FROM THE HEARTLAND

America’s founding fathers placed a big bet on citizens. InEurope, order was established by the state and controlled by aneducated elite. The American Idea took a radically differentcourse based on the belief that freedom from tyranny and state-control would lead to national prosperity and human flourishing.

The state would order liberty, not order it ’s people, and allowthe creativity of markets and the compassion of neighbors tocontinually pursue a more perfect union.This experimentrequired several essential ingredients meant to be passed downbetween the generations: understanding the duties ofcitizenship; a set of virtues that place the whole above the self;and doing one’s part to produce both economic and social value.

Sagamore Institute's Citizenship Agenda is designed to fostereducated and engaged citizens. Through our annual citizenshipconference, our curated civic resource room, and ongoingcitizenship initiatives, Sagamore promotes America's best andbrightest asset - her citizens.

WHYCITIZENSHIP?

This conference series was designed to educate and inspire Indiana citizens. Pastconference highlights include: inaugurating the Society of the Sagamores; engaginghundreds of Hoosiers leaders in Bicentennial work groups considering how to makeour third century the best one yet; and a conversation about how corporatecitizenship is being reinvented to prioritize social impact. Learn more atwww.sagamoreinstitute.org/citizenship/icoc.

INDIANA CONFERENCE ON CITIZENSHIP

RENEWING THE AMERICAN IDEA

CITIZENSHIP INITIATIVES

Whether you are a college student, a senior citizen, or a COVID-induced homeschoolparent, you'll love learning about American civics through the Renewing AmericanIdeas resources. Our curated content includes everything from recommendedfoundational documents to profiles of historic Hoosiers. Check our out interactiveresources and recommendations at www.sagamoreinstitute.org/citizenship/renewing-the-american-idea.

Active community members and organizations are the key to lasting local and nationalchange. Sagamore seeks to improve communities all across Indiana through a varietyof initiatives aimed at building better citizens. From our year-round internship programto annual art and culture conversations, we promote initiatives that further educationand engagement. Learn more at www.sagamoreinstitute.org/citizenship/ citizenship-initiatives.

WWW.SAGAMOREINSTITUTE.ORG/CITIZENSHIP

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SAGAMORE'S CITIZENSHIP AGENDA, VISIT