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Before we have our cookouts and fireworks displays, it’s worth pondering the meaning of this national holiday.
In 1776, when the Continental Congress was meeting in Philadelphia, war with Britain had been going on for more than a year. The year 1775 had seen the first fighting between colonists and British regulars at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts.
The so-called “Boston Massacre,” in which British troops fired into a crowd of protesters, had already happened.
So, the purpose of the declaration was not to start the war of independence. That was already going on. In fact, while the Congress was approving the Declaration of Independence, British ships were bringing troops into New York to begin their occupation of that city.
The declaration was to be used as a propaganda device overseas, and as a morale builder here at home. It also served as an invitation for Britain’s foes (such as France) to come to the aid of the newly-declared “independent” American states.
As written by Thomas Jefferson and amended by other members of the drafting committee — John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston — the declaration was composed of two parts. The first was a statement of principle. This was not regarded at the time as being as important as the second part — a list of grievances against the King of England.
Today, our interest is just the opposite of how it was at the time. We’re less concerned about the details of all of the ways that Britain and King George III were abusing the rights of the colonists.
It is that first part — as written by Jefferson and amended first by Adams and Franklin and later by the full Congress — that’s important to us today.
It’s the statement of principles for our Republic — and it’s what we are celebrating today.
While Jefferson thought Congress butchered his prose, there actually were great improvements over the first draft.
Jefferson originally wrote: “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable, that all men are created equal and independent, that from their equal creation they derive in rights inherent and inalienable, among which are the preservation of life and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Compare that original draft, to the one we have today:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The document goes on to say: “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government ...”
This preamble, and expression of rights, is the core sentiment of the declaration — and it is what we celebrate today, on a date that is regarded as the birthday of our nation.
