Off the Record with Ted Widmer at Clinton Presidential Center – Little Rock, AR

How has the Declaration of Independence shaped the American story and our understanding of freedom, equality, and democracy for 250 years?

Join us on Wednesday, December 9 at noon, for an “Off the Record” conversation with Ted Widmer, former speechwriter and senior advisor to President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton. Widmer will also discuss his new book, “The Living Declaration.”

In “The Living Declaration,” Widmer traces the evolving meaning of the Declaration of Independence over the past 250 years, exploring how generations of Americans have interpreted, challenged, and drawn inspiration from its ideals of liberty and equality.

BOOK: Widmer will sign copies of his book following the program. Pre-order your copy from the Clinton Museum Store, available for pickup at the event or post-event delivery.

The program will be available on our YouTube channel the following day.

ASL interpretation is available during our events.

This program is presented by the Clinton Foundation.

More about the speaker  

Ted Widmer was a speechwriter and senior advisor for President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001, and he was a Senior Advisor to Secretary Hillary Clinton from 2012 to 2013.  He has also been the director of research centers at Brown University and the Library of Congress, and has taught at Harvard University, Washington College and the City University of New York.  In 2020, he published Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington, describing Lincoln's fraught journey to assume the presidency.  In June 2026, he published The Living Declaration: A Biography of America's Founding Text, which details the way Americans have interacted with the Declaration of Independence over the past 250 years.