This Land Is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Gage frames her entire journey around the upcoming 250th anniversary of the US in 2026. How did this milestone shape your reading experience and your understanding of the book’s purpose from the very beginning?

2. As a historical travelogue, Gage’s work sits in conversation with books like Imani Perry’s South to America (2022). How did Gage’s approach compare to other books in the genre? What did her perspective as a professional historian add to this style of storytelling?

3. Of all the places Gage visited on her road trip, which stop was the most surprising or impactful for you? What made that particular moment resonate so strongly?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Gage revisited historic sites from her childhood, like Independence Hall, and saw them with new eyes. Think about a historical story or figure you learned about when you were younger. How has your understanding of that history changed over time, and what prompted that shift for you?

2. Have you ever visited one of the historical sites that Gage describes, such as Monticello, the Alamo, or the Little Bighorn battlefield? Describe your personal experience and takeaways. In what ways were they similar to or different from Gage’s?

3. Near the end of her travels, Gage realized that the major themes of her journey are present in her own hometown. Are there contested histories or hidden stories that exist in your own community?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. This book was written during a period of intense national debate over remaining monuments to controversial figures like John C. Calhoun and Confederate leaders. How did Gage’s exploration of these “cultural battlegrounds” help you understand the deeper issues at stake in today’s arguments over public memory?

2. What central message do you think the book offers for the country, even after the 250th anniversary has passed? What kind of national reflection does Gage’s book encourage?

3. The book connects historical injustices to modern problems, such as linking the legacy of slavery to contemporary mass incarceration. What other lines can you draw between the histories that Gage uncovers and the social or political issues we face today?

4. The author describes her effort to be both a “patriot[] and [a] critic[]” (xviii), holding the nation’s contradictions in a productive tension. How does this idea resonate with contemporary ideas of national or community identity in your local context?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. How did Gage’s choice to structure the book as a road trip, blending history with memoir, influence your engagement with the content compared to a more traditional history book? What are the strengths or weaknesses of this approach?

2. What is the significance of the recurring motif of replicas and reenactments, from Washington’s field tent to the full-scale copy of Independence Hall at Knott’s Berry Farm? How do these constructed versions of the past shape America’s public’s memory?

3. How did different figures and movements discussed in the book, from Elizabeth Cady Stanton to pro-slavery Texans, reinterpret the nation’s founding documents to serve their own causes?

4. Gage presents historical figures like Henry Ford and Andrew Jackson as figures of deep contradiction. How does this portrayal challenge simpler heroic or villainous narratives of the American past?

5. In which of Gage’s destinations did you find her thematic examination of The Parallel Roots of Freedom and Oppression to be most strongly or disturbingly illustrated?

6. Consider Gage’s authorial voice. How does her choice to present herself as an “ordinary tourist” while also drawing on her expertise as a historian shape her credibility and the book’s overall tone?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Add an additional chapter to Gage’s book. Which historical site or region in the US would you explore next? What story about the US would this new stop help to tell?

2. Design a new monument or historical marker for one of the sites that Gage visited. What story would you choose to tell, and how would you represent it for visitors today?

3. Gage concludes by invoking Woody Guthrie’s song “This Land Is Your Land.” If you were to create a playlist that captures the spirit of Gage’s journey, including its complexities, conflicts, and hopes, what songs would you choose, and why?