America 250: An Interview with Professor Kathleen DuVal

Connecting the Docs is back for a short commemorative series focused on the 250th anniversary of American independence! To start things off, we are joined by Professor Kathleen DuVal of the University of North Carolina. Professor DuVal is a Pulitzer Prize winning author of Native Nations: A Millennium in North America and a Carl W. Ernst Distinguished Professor of History in the College of Arts and Sciences at UNC. Along with host John Horan, Correspondence Associate Annabeth Poe, Imaging Specialist Erin Templeton, and podcast intern Emily Johnson, Professor DuVal reflects on the impact of the American Revolution and highlights the documents that transformed an idea into a movement.  

Primary Sources: 

“Constitution of the United States as Approved by North Carolina.” 1789. Federal and State Constitutional Materials, VC.47.5, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/constitution-of-the-united-states-as-approved-by-north-carolina-1789/788120 . 

“State Constitution of 1868.” 1868. Federal and State Constitutional Materials, VC.47.6, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/state-constitution-of-1868/788179 . 

“John Adams, Thoughts on Government.” 1776. Treasures Collection: Founding Documents, VC.1.2, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/john-adams-thoughts-on-government/411653 . 

Secondary Sources: 

DuVal, Kathleen. Independence Lost. Random House, 2016. 

Brundage, W. Fitzhugh et al. Foundations of American Democracy: A Critical Documents Reader. UNC Department of History, 2025. 

“Government and Heritage Library Card.” Library of North Carolina, https://library.nc.gov/search-library/access-materials-and-resources/government-and-heritage-library-card.