America Builders: Bringing the American Story to Life
As the United States prepares to celebrate the 250 th anniversary of independence, the Jefferson Institute has launched America Builders: an interactive educational platform that reimagines the story of American democracy in an engaging, entertaining way while maintaining the highest standards of scholarship.
America Builders provides an immersive historical experience, and we scoured the widest range of academic research and primary sources to create its innovative educational resources. Among the platform’s offerings—designed for both the classroom and individual exploration—users can engage historical figures in AI-driven simulated dialogues, with the responses drawn directly from their documented writings and speeches:
- Revolutionary leaders such as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Abigail Adams
- Black freedom pioneers such as Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, and W.E.B. Du Bois
- Women’s rights fighters such as Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, and Alice Paul
Our online course Independence250 explores the events and ideas surrounding the decision of the Continental Congress to declare independence and formally proclaim it to the world, giving learners a nuanced and practical understanding of this mythologized historical moment.
Additional features of the platform include:
- Gamified learning modules, interactive timelines, and multimedia content
- AI-assisted lesson plans, activities, exercises, and evaluations
