By The People: Project - Dialogues in Democracy

Williamsburg Convocation
Local Citizen Deliberations
National Online Poll





	Delegates Share Experiences Online

	Emerging leaders gathered in Williamsburg from Nov. 8-11 to renew the covenant of citizenship first articulated by America's founders. Many of our delegates chose to continue their conversations online:

	"The guys who passed this stuff risked their necks, literally . . . A few folks noticed that I got emotional, and also referred to the House as sacred space, which I believe deeply but rarely mention." -Craig Newmark, customer service rep and founder of craigslist.org "Alas, there is no universal American experience. Our founders were a more nearly homogenous group, but the 2007 delegates to the House of Burgesses were shaped as much by their differences as by what we had in common." -Betty Baye, Columnist, The Courier-Journal "I took from the experience this: People don't deliberate very well. People, even sophisticated people like this group, don't have training or practice in deliberative process." -Allison Hayward, Assistant Professor, George Mason University Law School "There is no shortage of people here with passionate positions on everything from abortion to guns to healthcare to national defense--across the board, though, these challenging issues have been debated with respect for one another and an honest sense of listening." - Major Ray Kimball, founding member Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Alonzo Washington, activist and comic book publisher, posted video and photos from his time in Williamsburg.

Citizen-Delegates Discuss Citizenship in Williamsburg, VA

Dialogues in Democracy: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

From November 8 through 11, Jim Lehrer, anchor of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS, led a national conversation entitled Dialogues in Democracy: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. The conversations – exploring the rights, responsibilities and expectations of American citizens – occured in the historic buildings of Colonial Williamsburg, a seminal site of American democracy and citizenship. The final convocation, at which thoughts on the drafting of a "Declaration of Citizenship for the 21st Century" were debated, took place in Colonial Williamsburg's Capitol in the Hall of the House of Burgesses, where the founding generation produced the first comprehensive Declaration of Rights.

Thomas Jefferson joins the opening plenary session, amid delegates Allison Hayward and Betty Baye. The convocation brought together a diverse group of approximately 50 influential Americans, who offered their views on the rights and responsibilities of citizens and government in modern-day America. Their conversations were informed by presentations from a wide range of American leaders, including Grammy award-winning saxophonist Branford Marsalis; Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang; Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Gordon Wood; Columnist and Linguist John McWhorter; Writer and Social Critic Howard Rheingold; and History Professor Carol Berkin.

Watch the By the People Documentary
View the full one-hour program that aired originally on PBS on Friday, January 4, 2008. The documentary reports on convocation, excerpts the smaller conversations held around the country and highlights the lively debate the delegates mounted on the final Sunday of the event.
(Requires Flash to view)

Meet the Convocation Participants
The carefully-chosen citizen-delegates at the Dialogues in Democracy convocation in Williamsburg, Virginia, reflected diverse perspectives. Among the participants were: Nathan Baxter, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania; David Davenport, former president of Pepperdine University; Lisa Madigan, Illinois Attorney General; Leo Melamed, Chairman Emeritus, Chicago Mercantile Exchange; Robert Moses, founder of The Algebra Project; Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist; M.I.T professor Sherry Turkle; and Indianapolis 500 driver Janet Guthrie.

Help Write a New Declaration of Citizenship
Citizen-delegates at the Dialogues in Democracy convocation created initial thoughts for a new Declaration of Citizenship in the 21st Century. Read their thoughts and suggest your own additions to the document.

Historians Outline Founders' View on Citizenship
Jim Lehrer moderated a discussion between historians Gordon Wood of Brown University and Carol Berkin of Baruch College as they offer their perspective on the Founders' view of citizens' rights and responsibilities.

Artists Examine Impact of Culture on Citizenship
NewsHour correspondent Elizabeth Farnsworth moderated a discussion between Grammy award-winning saxophonist Branford Marsalis, Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang and Columnist and Linguist John McWhorter on the impact of culture on citizenship in America.