The Declaration of Independence

As some of you have noticed and pointed out Randall and I have been recycling some older posts. We’ve been doing this for two reasons: 1. We have a lot of great posts in our archives that were written and published months ago (before our blog became popular) and many of them have simply not been viewed by our newer readers. 2. Randy will explain more in an upcoming post, but suffice it to say, there are some big personal events on the horizon that have taken up a lot of our time. With that said, this should be the last of the old posts. Starting tomorrow we’ll be back to fresh content from Randall, Dick Miller, Chiri and myself. Happy Reading.

I write this having just finished watching the Superbowl. Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t expect to find inspiration for a political blog in what is probably the most over-hyped of all American sporting events. However, just before the start of the game there was an NFL sponsored commercial, titled “We Are Americans” that featured character actors, current and past NFL greats, politicians and others performing a rendition of the Declaration of Independence (you can view it at the end of this post).

Putting aside the obvious attempt by the NFL to link what it means to be an American and the NFL, it got me to thinking. What percentage of Americans, prior to this commercial, have ever read the Declaration of Independence in its entirety? More importantly, how many people understand the magnitude of the document and what it represents? I don’t think I’m sticking my neck out too far by guessing that the numbers are pretty low.

What makes the Declaration of Independence so Important?

Abraham Lincoln may have answered this question best in his Gettysburg Address of 1863 where he so eloquently describes the importance of this document:

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

In this quote Lincoln is paraphrasing from the Preamble (the Declaration is not divided into formal sections; but, it is often discussed as consisting of five parts: Introduction, Preamble, Indictment, Denunciation and the Conclusion) that provides the central tenets on which our government is built.

In effect, the Declaration of Independence declared that the existing thirteen colonies were “Free and Independent States” and effectively severed all political ties and connections between them and Great Britain (specifically the rule of King George III). Of equal importance, this partisan document provides the reasoning and justification for the American Revolution that ultimately provided so many of the freedoms we enjoy today.

It is well beyond the scope of this post to go into a full review of the Declaration of Independence. Instead, I will provide a number of links where you can do some further research on your own. In addition, the video below is the same that was played during the Superbowl and provides a great way to hear for yourself the intent of the Continental Congress (the original government body that commissioned Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration) and the 56 members who signed it.

RESOURCES:

• Full text version of the Declaration of Independence
• Signers of the Declaration
• Common Myths about the Declaration
• Chronology of Events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence

Popularity: 5% [?]