The new TFAS Civic Leadership Seminars offer interactive educational programs for college students exploring economic freedom and free speech through the lens of the American Founding. These seminars combine expert-led discussions with hands-on civic exercises that bring constitutional principles to life.

Topics include:

-Declaration of Independence Deep Dive - Dr. Sam Goldman, Associate Professor of Humanities at the Hamilton School, University of Florida

-The Roots of American Constitutional Greatness - Dr. Donald Devine, TFAS Senior Scholar & President Reagan’s Civil Service Director

-Economics and the Founding - Dr. Anne Bradley, TFAS Vice President of Academic Affairs
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-Interactive Civics Activity - Tom Rooney, Former Illinois State Senator and FTE Instructor

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Students in TFAS Academic Internship Programs in the Spring and Summer will get a front row seat to history through immersive day trips. Students will experience an interactive visit to George Washington’s Mount Vernon, exploring the estate, museum and grounds that shaped the life and leadership of America’s first president. The guided tour brings the founding era to life, connecting Washington’s legacy to enduring questions of character, citizenship and the American experiment.

TFAS Spring and Summer students in D.C. will get a front row seat to history through interactive, immersive day trips. Students will visit Philadelphia to experience the National Constitution Center, Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and the Museum of the American Revolution. The deputy director for programs at the National Constitution Center will also give students an exclusive briefing.

Daniel Hannan, Lord of Kingsclere, is the 2026 TFAS America 250 Visiting Fellow, a member of the U.K. House of Lords and director general and Ralph Harris Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs. He is also president of the Institute for Free Trade, where he advocates the moral and intellectual case for free trade. Previously, he served as international secretary of the U.K. Conservative Party and as a Conservative member of the European Parliament for 21 years.

TFAS is infusing America 250 lessons into the classroom by weaving enhanced instruction on the Founding, rule of law, free enterprise and civic virtue into core courses—including American Political Thought and the internship seminars—and reinforcing them through themed lectures on America's 250th Birthday.

TFAS Trustee Chris Ullman welcomed the 2026 TFAS Summer Students in Washington with a profound lecture on "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."

The lecture presented vital advice for students to navigate their TFAS summer in Washington and their daily lives: Ullman explored how LIFE is a gift that should be honored through gratitude, curiosity and active engagement with the world, LIBERTY requires responsibility of self-governance, requiring discipline and virtue to flourish and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS is found not in guaranteed outcomes but in appreciating the present, maintaining reasonable expectations and living a purposeful, fulfilling life.

The new TFAS Honors Civic Leadership Seminars offer interactive educational programs for college students exploring economic freedom and free speech through the lens of the American Founding. These seminars combine expert-led discussions with hands-on civic exercises that bring constitutional principles to life. Topics include:

-Economic Freedom and the Founding - Dr. Anne Bradley, TFAS Vice President of Academic Affairs
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-The Roots of American Constitutional Greatness - Dr. Donald Devine, TFAS Senior Scholar & President Reagan’s Civil Service Director
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-Freedom of Speech and the Founding - Paul Glader, TFAS Professor and Alumnus

-Interactive Civics Simulation - Malhaz Jibladze, instructor for TFAS’s High School division, Foundation for Teaching Economics

Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik delivered the Annual TFAS Neal B. Freeman All-Student Lecture. Rabbi Soloveichik explored why the text of the Declaration of Independence, and John Trumbull’s painting of the Signing, uniquely express the American idea: that the United States is a covenantal nation built on a text and on shared ideas.

TFAS guides students on a Declaration of Independence tour through Washington, D.C. From the National Archives, to the Jefferson Memorial to Signers Island, students connect the Founders’ ideas to America’s institutions and experience liberty, sacrifice and civic responsibility where history lives.

How did the ideals of the United States Declaration of Independence resonate far beyond America’s borders? TFAS Alumna Anna Smith Lacey, Executive Director of the Hungary Foundation, led a discussion on the global influence of the American Founding and its enduring impact on European political thought and reform movements. Drawing on the experiences of 19th-century Hungarian intellectuals such as Sándor Bölöni Farkas – often described as the “Hungarian Tocqueville” – the talk explored how the American democratic experiment inspired generations of European reformers seeking liberty, constitutionalism and self-government. Lacey also reflected on the broader transatlantic exchange of ideas between the United States and Hungary and why the principles of the Declaration continue to resonate in democratic societies today.

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Washington Briefings give students behind-the-scenes access to key Washington institutions, pairing expert-led tours and lectures with America 250–themed discussions and visits to places like the U.S. Capitol, Department of State and the White House, bringing the Founding’s ideas to life in the nation’s capital.

Yuval Levin, director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, will deliver a lecture to the TFAS Law Fellows on "The American Revolution and the Constitution."

Levin holds the Beth and Ravenel Curry Chair in Public Policy. The founder and editor of National Affairs, he is also a senior editor at the New Atlantis, a contributing editor at National Review and a contributing opinion writer at the New York Times.

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TFAS’s Leadership Lounge and Student BBQ events celebrate America 250 with Patriotic-themed gatherings that bring students together in a relaxed setting to reflect on the American Founding, build community and celebrate the freedoms that define our nation.

TFAS is putting the ideas of the Founding directly into students’ hands through pocket-sized Declarations of Independence and Constitutions that invite reflection on liberty and self-government. Donor support funds the printing and distribution of these Founding documents, ensuring the principles that launched a nation continue to shape the next generation of courageous citizens.

During the annual Santiago alumni dinner, the TFAS International team coordinated a photo booth to commemorate America 250. Students and alumni alike enjoyed posing with quintessential American iconography like the Declaration of Independence, the Statue of Liberty and more.

Students in TFAS Santiago enjoyed an America 250 casual celebration featuring classic American fast food, trivia and games. From burgers to onion rings, TFAS students from around the world experienced a true American feast while testing and gaining their knowledge on American history and civics.

A semester-long spring program supported by the Spencer Foundation, offering full scholarships, housing and stipends for 20-25 students in Washington, D.C. The program includes economic and government classes at George Mason University, internships and professional development seminars. Also featured are site visits, guest lectures and special events focused on America 250.

American Spaces welcomed the 2026 TFAS International Santiago Program for a special lecture on U.S.-Chilean Constitutional similarities with Roberto Villaseca, an associate at the Chilean law firm Casey. This visit was a joint effort with La Universidad de los Andes and the U.S. Embassy Santiago, Chile, whose spokesperson and press attaché, Chase Guinn, delivered opening remarks.

TFAS Santiago class sessions emphasized the American Revolution and Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. From an overview of American history by La Universidad de los Andes Professor Isidora Puga, to American Constitutionalism and Philosophical Foundations by TFAS Professor Nikolai Wenzel, students enjoyed a holistic academic experience that emphasized the influence of Adam Smith and the celebration of America 250.