Citizen Travelers: Exploring Civics and American History

While Travelers has long been a good corporate citizen, with Citizen Travelers, we are finding new ways to be a corporation of good citizens.

Our democracy is stronger at every level when it is representative of the people it serves, and when our public discourse is driven by a diversity of informed opinions, all looking for the best solution to the issues of the day. With that in mind, Travelers has partnered with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History to provide its employees with ready-made non-partisan resources on topics in American civic history that are front-and-center in current events. On this page you can find Gilder Lehrman timelines, videos, and primary sources illuminating the historical background of current debates on US civil rights and liberties.

“Voting Rights in American History” with Professor Alexander Keyssar

On March 9, 2022, Citizen Travelers and the Gilder Lehrman Institute presented “Voting Rights in American History” with Professor Alexander Keyssar.

Professor Keyssar used his book The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States to discuss how the right to vote has been debated, fought for, expanded, and contested from America’s founding era to the present day.

Voting Rights Resources

Click here to access primary sources, essays, videos, and timelines on voting rights in American history.

“Freedom of Speech in American History” with Professor Jon Zimmerman

On December 16, 2021, Citizen Travelers and the Gilder Lehrman Institute presented “Freedom of Speech in American History” with Professor Jon Zimmerman.

Professor Zimmerman used his book Free Speech, and Why You Should Give a Damn to discuss what free speech is, how it has been understood across American history, and why it is so important. You can re-watch the lecture and Q&A with Professor Zimmerman below.

 

 

 

Freedom of Speech Resources

Click here to access primary sources, essays, and timelines related to freedom of speech in American history.

The educational webinar series is presented by Citizen Travelers, the civic engagement initiative of The Travelers Companies, Inc., for informational and educational purposes only. The views expressed by professors and/or the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and its employees are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Travelers or any of its employees. Travelers disclaims responsibility for any publication or statement by professors and/or the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and/or any of the speakers engaged by them.