Justice Gorsuch highlights humanity, history in children's book celebrating America's 250th anniversary
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...
By Fox News · Fox News
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. JUSTICE BARRETT OPENS UP ABOUT 'AWKWARD' START ON SCOTUS, SHADOW DOCKET AND MORE IN FORTHCOMING MEMOIR 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 hav…