Letter from the Editors
I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. — I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. — Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.
John Adams, Letter to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776.
Describing the Declaration of Independence, John Adams clearly understood that the actions of those gathered in Philadelphia would define the course of coming decades. This was an event driven by a mixture of political interests, high-minded principles, and the habit of self-government that gradually transformed many colonists to revolutionaries. Men like Adams clearly grasped the gravity of what they had embarked upon, but at the same time they were keenly aware that the Revolution was not made through the force of ideas alone.
This month’s essays look to understand the myriad ways from the nineteenth century through to the present that we have used and abused the Declaration for our ends in the present. All too often, scholars and advocates present a one-sided view of the Declaration’s role in the American Revolution. In assigning the document to convenient argumentative categories, they obscure the complex role it played in both domestic and international politics during the Revolution and through to the present day. Grasping the Declaration’s real importance requires a broader approach, and joining a deeper conversation.
This Month's Further Reading and Listening
To further your exploration of the philosophies that lie behind and emerge from the Declaration, we offer you some suggestions for reading and listening this month. Join our lead essayist Jerome Copulsky and noted religion scholar Mark Noll as they discuss certain strands of religious thinking that, in one way or another, have sought to overcome the fact of American religious pluralism. For the deeper history of these matters, we point you to Federalist 51 and Samuel Pufendorf’s classic reflections on the place of religion in a free society. As usual, we offer you a quick comment from historian Gordon S. Wood and a link to our ever-growing collection of revolutionary war era pamphlets selected by Jack Greene.
Podcast
Religion and the Republic
Essay
Federalist 51
Document Collection
The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776
Countdown to the Declaration
New material every month as we explore the Declaration's past, present, and future.
6
months to go
Law & Constitutionalism
The Declaration of Independence and the American Theory of Government
Does the Declaration offer us any permanent guidance in thinking constitutionally?
Equality
Anything But Compromising
Writing a Declaration that could secure support required compromises and negotiations: How did these compromises chart the course of, or delay the recognition of equality for coming generations?
Political Institutions
Republican Government after the Digital Revolution
Does technology fundamentally alter the basis for representative government? Does it give us cause to reconsider the principles of the Declaration?
Philosophy & Theology
Against Authority
How important are religious and Enlightenment ideas to the concepts in the Declaration? Are these influences necessarily in conflict?
Political Economy
Economic Wisdom for Tumultuous Times
Why do we find ourselves refighting the same debates between open markets and mercantilism that preoccupied the 18th century?
Education
Educational Experience and the Challenge to Empire
What in the Founders’ education prepared them to be able to craft the Declaration? To what degree did it challenge the ideals of empire?
Find the full list of months, including archived and upcoming themes, on our Countdown page.
We are a private educational foundation that encourages thought and discussion of enduring issues about liberty.
Liberty Fund offers a rich set of educational programs. These include Socratic-style conferences, thought-provoking books, and engaging online resources focused on the understanding and appreciation of the complex nature of a free and responsible society.