The Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum collects, preserves, and shares the diverse stories of Jewish history and culture in the National Capital Region. Through exhibitions and programs, we build connections across generations and communities, encourage reflection on the relevance of the past to today, and inspire civic and community engagement.
Description
No Jews signed the Declaration of Independence, nor were any Jews delegates to the Continental Congress. Yet as the Declaration became America’s most revered symbol of freedom and equality, Jews played a unique, if often hidden, role in bringing the founding document closer to Americans. Michael Auslin, author of the recently-published book National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America, will explore the inspiring Jewish philanthropic, scholarly, cultural, and commercial efforts to preserve and popularize the Declaration as the supreme statement of the American ideal.
In partnership with the Haberman Institute for Jewish Studies.
Michael Auslin is the Payson J. Treat Distinguished Research Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Previously, he was an associate professor of history at Yale. He wrote National Treasure as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Library of Congress’s John W. Kluge Center and an American Heritage Partners Fellow at the Society of the Cincinnati’s American Revolution Institute. Auslin lives in Virginia and publishes a Substack, “The Patowmack Packet, on Washington, DC, past and present.”
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Virtual attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions for the panelists in real time and will receive a webinar link 30 minutes before the start of the program. Captions will be available using Zoom webinar. YOU MUST REGISTER TO ATTEND VIRTUALLY BY 6 PM ON THURSDAY, JULY 16 TO RECIEVE A ZOOM LINK.
Please contact Hally Silberg at hsilberg@capitaljewishmuseum.org with any questions about virtual attendance.
Image credit: Promotional photos provided courtesy of the speaker.
Date & Time
Thu, Jul 16, 2026 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM