Civics In A Year
What do you really know about American government, the Constitution, and your rights as a citizen?
Civics in a Year is a fast-paced podcast series that delivers essential civic knowledge in just 10 minutes per episode. Over the course of a year, we’ll explore 250 key questions—from the founding documents and branches of government to civil liberties, elections, and public participation.
Rooted in the Civic Literacy Curriculum from the Center for American Civics at Arizona State University, this series is a collaborative project supported by the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership. Each episode is designed to spark curiosity, strengthen constitutional understanding, and encourage active citizenship.
Whether you're a student, educator, or lifelong learner, Civics in a Year will guide you through the building blocks of American democracy—one question at a time.
Civics In A Year
Kids Edition: Thomas Jefferson and the Words That Shaped America
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Today, we are answering Lucy's question: Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? Why does that matter?
Thomas Jefferson, at just 33 years old, was chosen to write the Declaration of Independence due to his exceptional writing abilities and commitment to the ideals of freedom and equality. His famous words established America's founding principles while revealing contradictions between these ideals and the reality of life in 1776.
• Thomas Jefferson was part of a committee including Benjamin Franklin and John Adams
• Jefferson wrote the famous line "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
• The Declaration contained contradictions, as not everyone in America was treated equally at that time
• Jefferson later became the third president and doubled the size of the country through the Louisiana Purchase
• The Declaration's ideas about freedom, equality, and natural rights continue to inspire Americans today
Keep asking big questions and remember that history isn't just about the past—it's also about the future.
Check Out the Civic Literacy Curriculum!
School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership
Hi, my name is Lucy and I'm from preschool. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence and why does it matter? Hi there and welcome back to Civics in a Year kids edition. I'm Liz and today we're answering a big question from Lucy. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence and why does that matter? Well, let's find out.
Speaker 1:In 1776, the leaders of the 13 colonies decided it was time to break away from Great Britain. They needed a document that explained why they wanted to become their own country. A small team of leaders, including Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, asked a young man named Thomas Jefferson to do most of the writing. Jefferson was only 33 years old, but he was known for being a great writer and a deep thinker. He believed strongly in ideas like freedom, equality and natural rights, the idea that everyone is born with certain rights like life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In the Declaration Jefferson wrote we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. This sentence became one of the most famous in American history. But there's something important to think about.
Speaker 1:Even though the Declaration talks about equality and freedom, not everyone in America at the time was treated equally. That's what we call a contradiction, when what is written doesn't match what's really happening. The Declaration gave us big and powerful ideas, but it also reminds us that we had to keep working, even today, to live up to those ideals. So what happened to Thomas Jefferson after that? Well, he did not stop shaping the country After he wrote the Declaration.
Speaker 1:He served in important government roles and in 1801, he became the third president of the United States. As president, jefferson helped double the size of the country by buying land in something called the Louisiana Purchase, and he supported ideas about education, liberty and the rights of citizens. So why does it matter that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence? Because his words gave us a vision of what America could be a place where people are free, have rights and help choose their government. And even though there were contradictions at the start, those ideas still inspire people today to keep making our country better. Thanks for joining us today on Civics in a Year Kids Edition. Keep asking these big questions and remember history isn't just about the past, it's about the future too.
