U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch visited the George W. Bush Presidential Center on Southern Methodist University’s campus Saturday afternoon for a talk and reading of his children’s book Heroes of 1776.
He was joined by Janie Nitze, who is the co-author of the book.
Justice Gorsuch is the second Supreme Court justice to speak at the presidential center that week. Justice Amy Coney Barrett spoke about her book Listening to the Law last week.
Young children gathered in front of the audience to be up close to justice. He started the conversation by honoring a friend of his who recently died and whose memorial service was that day. Former ambassador Robert McCallum served as the U.S. ambassador to Australia from 2006 to 2009.
“Robert McCallum was one of the finest men I knew. The very definition of a gentleman,” Justice Gorsuch said.
Justice Gorsuch was mentored by McCallum while working at the Department of Justice.
“I know him by reputation as one of the finest trial lawyers in the country, and the opportunity to be mentored by somebody like that, I wasn’t going to pass up,” Justice Gorsuch said.
When asked why he chose to write the book, and specifically one for children, he said to celebrate the 250th anniversary and take a moment to reflect.
“In my mind, there are three great ideas. One, that each and every one of us is equal. Second, that each of you is given rights by God, not by government. Thirdly, that when you grow up, you’re going to have the right to rule yourselves,” Justice Gorsuch said. “And those three ideas were incredibly radical in 1776, and they still look pretty radical today.”
He said he and Nitze wanted to share the stories of the people who contributed to founding the country.
Justice Gorsuch noted that only about 40 percent of colonists supported independence, while a handful were loyalists and the rest sat on the sidelines.
Nitze’s parents immigrated to the U.S. in 1916 and passed their love of the United States to her.
“They really loved this country, and they wanted, as I grew up, to ensure that their love for this country got passed on to me and that I was grateful for and did not take for granted the freedoms that we have,” Nitzie said. “They did that by telling me their stories of what it was like to grow up in a country that didn’t have the freedoms that we have here.”
She said she wanted to make sure she did the same for her children but didn’t have the same stories.
“What I did have was a chance to tell the stories of the Revolutionary generation with [Justice Gorsuch],” Nitze said. “I think both of us wanted to make sure that my kids and all should understand that our country was not inevitable and that it really came about because of the choices.”
Nitze said one of her favorite “heroes” in the book is the story of Mary Katharine Goddard, who printed the first official copy of the Declaration of Independence.
Goddard almost always printed her name as “M.K. Goddard,” but when she printed the Declaration of Independence, she used her full name instead. Nitze said that by doing so, she and the rest of the signers openly marked themselves as traitors and expected to die.
“It was an interesting act of bravery that she didn’t have to do, but as an example of someone who’s standing up for what they believe in, regardless of the cost,” Nitze said.
Justice Gorsuch said one of his favorite heroes in the book was Deborah Sampson Gannett. She spent a year disguised as a man and fought in the Continental Army.
He was asked how the lessons of those who fought for independence might fit our nation now.
“Everybody likes to say, we’re divided. I will say yes, yes, and always thus. God bless this mess,” Justice Gorsuch said. “You’ve got to remember it was that way at the time, too.”
He said if the framers were brought back today, they would think it was a “pretty perfect union.”
The event concluded with Justice Gorsuch and Nitze reading portions of the book and signing it for everyone in attendance.