The American Village educational mission is to strengthen and renew the foundations of American liberty and constitutional self-government with an emphasis on programs for young people. The American Village is a nationally-pioneering classroom and American history and civics education center that engages and inspires 35,000-40,000 students annually from Alabama and Southeastern states in experience-based academic programs related to American history, civics and government. Students “step into history” and discover the power and drama of America’s journey for independence, liberty, and self-government. The American Village is embarked on a journey to expand the number of students served on-campus to 100,000 each year, drawing school and youth groups from throughout the Nation. On the cornerstone of liberty, the American Village educates and inspires young people to:
Know America’s history — the stories of our country’s legacy of liberty and those in every generation who have secured it
Cherish the ideals of liberty — the founding principles on which our Nation, the Constitution, institutions of American self-government, and our civic responsibilities are based
Serve our country as good citizens and leaders — all as stewards of liberty
Remembering the Price of Liberty
The timeless lesson of liberty is that freedom is not free. The American Village tells the compelling stories of not only America’s legacy of liberty, but of those in every generation who have served and sacrificed for that cause. Adjoining the hallowed ground of the Alabama National Cemetary, which will become the final resting place for almost 200,000 veterans, the American Village has been designated by public law as the Veterans Living Legacy. This campus is dedicated to honoring America’s veterans and their service and sacrifice for the cause of liberty. The American Village is preparing to engage and inspire 150,000 visitors each year to remember and honor our veterans and active military. The National Veterans Shrine uses multimedia to engage visitors in the stories of liberty and sacrifice, from generation to generation. It houses the Veterans Register of Honor which presents the names, photographs, and biographies of tens of thousands of veterans, living and dead, who have served our country. The Freedom Trail includes a replica of Concord's Old North Bridge, evoking the "shot heard 'round the world" and will include a Field of Honor representing soils taken from the blood-stained battlefields where brave Americans have served their country and the cause of freedom. The Trail will enable young and old alike to experience America’s journey for independence and freedom, especially remembering the cost of liberty. It will serve as an interpretive gateway adjoining the 490-acre National Veterans Cemetery, truly transforming these consecrated places into the “Arlington of the Southeast.”
Cherishing the Constitution and America’s Charters of Freedom
Our country faces growing national amnesia of the constitutional foundations of our freedom and self-government. On most school days at the American Village students step into roles as delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. They gaze at the "Rising Sun Chair" and perhaps realize that individually as citizens and leaders they will help decide whether the sun is still a rising sun for our country. The American Village aims to broaden and enhance the impact of its programs based on the Constitution and America's Charters of Freedom. The centerpiece of this facility and educational program expansion will be Independence Hall and Congress Hall Classrooms. Inspired by America's Independence Hall and adjoining Congress Hall of Philadelphia, the American Village's expansion will be an extraordinary setting for both student and public programs with a compelling focus on America's great Charters of Freedom:
The Declaration of Independence
The United States Constitution
The Bill of Rights
These documents are more than historic relics on old parchment. They represent what Jefferson called "the creed of our political faith; the text of civic instruction." They remain our Nation's fundamental principles that "secure the blessings of liberty" to this and future generations.
