Letter from the Editors
This fierce spirit of liberty is stronger in the English colonies probably than in any other people of the earth; and this from a great variety of powerful causes; which, to understand the true temper of their minds, and the direction which this spirit takes, it will not be amiss to lay open somewhat more largely.
Edmund Burke, Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies, 1775
This month, we turn our attention to the questions of constitutionalism that are at the heart of the American revolution. The rights-driven rhetoric of the Declaration of Independence stands out for many Americans as the most memorable element of the document. For many, if not most of us, the document does not immediately evoke specifically legal thinking. But the bulk of the document reads as an indictment of the Parliament’s constitutional violations.
Our lead essay from Helen Dale considers the wide-ranging impact of the Declaration and the Constitution as reflected in Australia’s Constitutional process and contents.
And so this month, we delve into various ways of understanding the constitutional legacy of the Declaration. It is certainly true that the colonies embraced the British Constitution’s protections, and sought to defend them against what they saw as the mother country’s overreach. Was this a family squabble that spiraled out of control? Pamphlet essay author and A Call to Liberty co-editor Sarah Skwire asks: To what degree was division over a common language a major contributing factor in turning a constitutional debate into a war?
This Month's Further Reading and Listening
Expore more material about the British Constitutional crisis provoked by the colonial push for independence, the way the Declaration of Independence influenced the American Constitution, and more in our collection of recommended books, videos, podcasts and articles this month.
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.
14
months to go
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?
Liberty and Tyranny
Conditions of Revolution: Sic Sometimes Tyrannis
What sustains liberty? Does the Declaration offer a model for future political resistance to tyrants?
Find the full list of months, including archived and upcoming themes, on our Countdown page.
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