12/20

Students in Captain Joe Eldred’s Advanced U.S. Government class recently used a flex block to visit the Rotunda of the National Archives Building in downtown D.C., where they viewed the nation’s original Founding Documents: the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. As noted on the National Archives website, these documents, known as the Charters of Freedom, establish the principles of the United States and have inspired the American people to pursue a more perfect union for almost 250 years.

While on the trip, the students had the opportunity to learn from an Archives docent who explained in detail the significance of the famous Faulkner Murals located on the walls of the Rotunda. As the docent explained, these paintings are among the largest single-piece oil-on-canvas murals in the United States, and depict fictional scenes of the presentation of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. “What resonated most with me were the paintings in the Rotunda,” said Lucinda Cahan ’26. “Learning how they weren’t just pretty art to make the rotunda seem grand, but they had a story, was cool for me to see as an artist.”

Mason Maher ’26 added, “One of my favorite parts about learning is when the opportunity presents itself to connect the classroom to some type of experience I have in life and this was no doubt an experience that checked that box for me. I got to see in person the over 200 year-old documents that feel so natural to us every day. I feel as though each night when I do my homework for this class I quote or reference these founding documents in some way.”

Helen Milito ’26 agreed: “It was very empowering to be feet, even inches away from the documents that are pillars of our nation — it made all the history and abstract concepts of liberty and freedom tangible, in a singular document declaring our liberty, laying out the values of our nation, and the rights of the people. It’s funny, but I kept thinking, ‘This is what America is.’”