Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is releasing a children’s book this month aimed at teaching young Americans about the Declaration of Independence and the nation’s founding ideals.
The book comes as the U.S. approaches its 250th anniversary and amid declining civic knowledge among students, a trend Gorsuch said he hopes to help reverse.
In “Heroes of 1776: The Story of the Declaration,” Gorsuch highlights the ideals America was founded on — including independence, self-governance and separation of powers. The book weaves together stories both from well-known revolutionaries and everyday patriots, whose little-known acts of bravery paved the way for the country we know today.
“If parents are tired of ‘Goodnight Moon,’ how about ‘Goodnight, Ben Franklin?'” Gorsuch quipped of his forthcoming book in a sit-down interview with Fox News Digital.
The book, written by Gorsuch and his former colleague, Janie Nitze, seeks to share the nation’s hard-fought history with younger generations by highlighting the individuals at the center of America’s founding.
Gorsuch said the idea to write the book came out of a shared desire to address the steep decline in civic education in the United States among school-aged children and adults alike. “Only about 13% of kids today in eighth grade are proficient in American history — [and just] 22% in civics,” he said.
“One thing we could all agree on is the importance of learning American history,” Gorsuch said. “Because how else are you going to carry this thing forward? Somebody has to run the zoo, right?”
Ultimately, “Heroes of 1776” chronicles the individual stories of people who put their lives on the line to secure America’s independence.
At the time, Gorsuch noted, independence was considered a deeply radical notion. The book emphasizes the hardships that the Declaration’s signers endured — often, at grave personal cost.
“You have to remember that only about 40% of the colonists supported independence,” Gorsuch told Fox News Digital. “Even in July 1776, another 30% were opposed. They were loyalists. The rest were kind of undecided. And it split up families.”
The book is striking both for its detailed, hand-painted artwork — developed in close collaboration with illustrator Chris Ellison, whose work Gorsuch said “deserves a prize” — and the captivating stories it shares about the founders and lesser-known patriots who risked their lives for freedom.
This includes many young people as well. The book recounts the stories of 16-year-old Joseph Plum Martin, who defended Philadelphia from the British troops, and 18-year-old Emily Geiger, who worked as a spy.
“Young people have been remarkable contributors to our country throughout history,” Gorsuch said in the interview.
By exploring the individuals whose sacrifices and bravery defined the fight for America’s independence, Gorsuch said, he hopes the new book can offer a “touch of humanity” for children and adults alike, adding little-known details and color to an otherwise well-documented history.
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“At the heart of it all were ordinary people willing to do extraordinary things and risk all they had to secure a better life for themselves, their children, and generations to come,” Gorsuch wrote of the fight for independence, as America approaches its 250th anniversary.
“And a wise old judge once told me, if you sit and listen to someone long enough, you’re going to find something you can agree on,” he told Fox News Digital. “Maybe you start there.”
“That’s what we do,” Gorsuch said of his relationship with his colleagues on the Supreme Court. “And that is what the framers did, too.”
