Rediscover America's Original Promise

Click here to see the Original Promise postcard (pdf)

The United States is a country built on the heroic actions, visionary social idealism, and frontier wilderness of our forefathers and foremothers. From the Pilgrims to the Boston Tea Party, to the Shakers and Quakers on the East Coast, from Spanish to Mexican rule to the Gold and Silver Rush in the Western States, the United States has seen waves of immigrants arrive full of human hope, determination, and the ingenuity to build a better way of life. And once arrived in this new frontier, our relationship to the North American wilderness and Native Peoples has shaped our goals and influenced how we identify ourselves as a society.

The Native American Tribes who were First People on the land continue to have lessons to teach us today, as do the African and Asian descendents who have traveled far and endured incredible hardships to become an integral part of the American fabric. This is a country that is still learning today the meaning and value of multi-cultural diversity and of ethnic tolerance - and - the disaster that can result from national, religious, or ethnic intolerance… as we are likewise learning the resulting impact of the changes we have boldly made in the natural environment.

From George Washington to Martin Luther King, from the Transcendentalists and John Muir in the 1800s to the Women's Vote and Civil Rights in the 1900s, to the poverty relief and environmental protection agencies of today, American's have boldly sought to solve social problems untouched by other nations. We are a land with unprecedented human and environmental diversity, and in this natural diversity reside our greatest strengths.

The American dream of freedom, tolerance, and equality is a beacon for ourselves
and for other nations around the world.

Come Celebrate the Heroism, Vision, History, and
Magnificent Natural Environment of America!

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