They may not have had their likenesses set in bronze, but their stories are testaments to American progress.

Jefferson’s notion of liberty, while visionary for his time, did not extend to all people.

In this age of economic and civic inequality, understanding what it means to be American has never been more important. The Aspen Institute Citizenship and American Identity Program created an initiative called What Every American Should Know, crowdsourcing ideas from a wide range of Americans about what we all need to know to be aware, effective, and engaged citizens.