Last week was the thirteenth week of videos from the 250 to 250 Project that we’re producing to honor the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
asserted
we → produce → Independence
Our hope was for the videos to emphasize the agency of Americans—mostly everyday Americans—to change the country.
asserted
videos → emphasize → country
Each falls into a category that defines what it means to be an American, including community, democracy, innovation, mobility, civil rights, education, conservation, and creativity.
asserted
it → fall → community
Once again this week, some of our narrators chose their own topics adding wonderful new stories.
asserted
some → choose → stories
This was yet another week of spectacular narrators who themselves represent the innovation, talent, and civic-mindedness we were hoping to celebrate.
asserted
we → represent → innovation
You can follow the project at the sites listed below, or under “videos” at my own YouTube page: Heather Cox Richardson.
asserted
You → follow → page
Or just wait until I send out the week’s roundup.
asserted
I → wait → roundup
Follow Along | #WeAreAmerica250
Substack | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Bluesky | Threads
Treaty of Portsmouth, Narrated by John Palfrey
John Palfrey, recognized as one of the best leaders in America by U.S. News & World Report, is an American educator, legal scholar, and author who serves as the president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
asserted
who → follow → Foundation
He is the great-grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering the Treaty of Portsmouth.
asserted
who → win → Portsmouth
Robert “Fighting Bob” La Follette, Narrated by Ben Wikler
Ben Wikler is an American political organizer and New York Times best-selling author who served as the chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin from July 2019 to July 2025.
asserted
who → narrate → July
Wikler’s latest book This Is The Plan: How to End America’s Meltdown and Save Democracy is now available.
asserted
This → end → Democracy
Wikler profiles Robert “Fighting Bob” La Follette, the Wisconsin reformer who battled corporate power and drove some of the Progressive Movement’s greatest victories.
asserted
who → profile → victories
Tsien profiles architect I.M. Pei, whose bold geometric designs—from the National Gallery’s East Wing to the Louvre pyramid—helped define American modernism.
asserted
designs → profile → modernism
MacFarlane has earned 20 Emmy and Edward R. Murrow awards and the Anna Quindlen Award for excellence in journalism from the Child Welfare League of America.
asserted
MacFarlane → earn → America
Edward R. Murrow was a radio and television newscaster whose unflinching reports set the standard for American broadcast journalism.
asserted
reports → set → journalism
Norman Rockwell, Narrated by Kahlil Greene
Kahlil Greene, the “Gen-Z Historian,” is a well-known digital educator, Peabody Award winner, and two-time Emmy nominee with an audience of over 50 million views across TikTok, Instagram, and author of History Can’t Hide on Substack.
asserted
History → narrate → Substack
Greene profiles illustrator Norman Rockwell, whose beloved images of everyday American life evolved to confront war, civil rights, and the nation’s conscience.
asserted
images → profile → war
Tlingits, Narrated by Rosita Worl
Dr. Rosita Worl is a Tlingit American anthropologist, educator, and president of the Sealaska Heritage Institute recognized as an expert in Southeast Alaska Native culture and history.
asserted
Worl → narrate → culture
Worl introduces the Tlingit people, “People of the Tides,” who have stewarded Southeast Alaska’s coasts since time immemorial and fought to defend Indigenous rights.
asserted
who → introduce → rights
Governor Josh Stein of North Carolina is lifelong public servant who previously served in the state Senate, as Senior Deputy Attorney General for consumer protection, and as North Carolina Attorney General.
asserted
who → serve → General
Governor Stein celebrates the Wright brothers, whose 12-second flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903 launched the age of aviation.
asserted
flight → celebrate → aviation
Head Start, Narrated by Jill Biden
Dr. Jill Biden is a highly regarded educator and former First Lady and Second Lady of the United States of America.
asserted
Biden → narrate → America
Here, her history of Head Start reminds us that participation improves children’s language, literacy, and social skills.
asserted
participation → remind → language
Lemon Grove, Narrated by Marianna Vinson
Marianna Vinson is a first-generation Mexican-American educator.
asserted
Vinson → narrate → Vinson
The Superintendent of the Lemon Grove School District, Vinson formerly served as the Deputy Director for the Office of English Language Acquisition at the U.S. Department of Education.
asserted
Vinson → serve → Education
In 1931, the San Diego County Superior Court ruled that the segregation at Lemon Grove violated California law.
asserted
segregation → rule → law
Battle of Fallen Timbers, Narrated by Wes Siler
Wes Siler is an independent journalist who has spent the last 24 years writing about the intersection of public lands, conservation, and politics.
asserted
who → narrate → lands
He’s currently building a new Substack newsletter about those topics.
asserted
He → build → topics
He tells the story of the brief battle that forced Native American displacement from most of modern-day Ohio, opening it to white American settlement.
asserted
that → tell → settlement
Mount St. Helens Eruption, Narrated by John Ebel
Dr. John Ebel is a highly regarded senior scientist at the Weston Observatory at Boston College whose expertise has made him the go-to source for media reporting on earthquakes in New England and around the world.
asserted
him → narrate → world
He explains what happened in 1980, when Mount St. Helens erupted in the most destructive volcanic event in American history.
asserted
Helens → explain → history
Woodlot Revolt, Narrated by Paula Peters
Paula Peters is a journalist, educator and activist.
asserted
Peters → narrate → Peters
A citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, she travels internationally to speak and educate on the true Wampanoag story.
asserted
she → travel → story
Here she tells the story of the 1833 Woodlot Revolt, in which Wampanoag activists were arrested but the Wampanoag achieved a period of self-rule until 1870.
asserted
Wampanoag → tell → 1870
Mayo Clinic, Narrated by Dr. Stephen Ray Mitchell
Dr. Stephen Ray Mitchell is an award-winning medical expert who currently serves as the Joseph Butenas Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics and Dean Emeritus for Medical Education at Georgetown University School of Medicine.
asserted
who → narrate → Medicine
Dr. Mitchell has chaired the North American Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME) and has led accreditation visits to over 20 other Medical Schools.
asserted
Mitchell → chair → Schools
He tells the story of the founding of the Mayo Clinic, which pioneered many hallmarks of modern health care.
asserted
which → tell → care
Wilma Mankiller, Narrated by Julie Reed
Julie Reed is a citizen of the Cherokee nation, Native American historian, author, and professor whose reflective essays include a widely syndicated piece about Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of Cherokee Nation.
asserted
essays → narrate → Nation
The Aporia
