Happy Birthday, America! 247 years ago today, the Continental Congress voted to adopt the Declaration of Independence.
Crumble celebrates July 4th - British by birth. American by choice.
Penned a few days previously by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration proclaimed that the thirteen colonies were “free and independent States”, before setting out a long list of grievances against George III.
The Declaration did much more than merely say that the colonists had had enough of the British King. Its real genius lies in the revolutionary claims it makes as to the nature of authority.
“All men are created equal” Jefferson wrote, “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The American revolutionaries were not only getting rid of a king. They were getting rid of the idea that one human was born to rule over another.
“To secure these rights” Jefferson went on “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”.
When you hear something often, it is easy to take it for granted. But the radical and experimental nature of what Jefferson and co were suggesting should never be overlooked. For most of human history until that moment, the norm was for the powerful to preside not only without the consent of the governed. Usually they ruled on the backs of those they governed.
At the time that the Declaration was approved, the Continental Congress could not even be certain that the rebels could hold New York, let alone win the war and go onto establish the greatest Republic in history. Today we celebrate not only the birth of America. Nor just a new way of governing a society. We celebrate the two and a half centuries of achievement that this new way of governing society has given rise to.
A newcomer to the US, I feel like I missed out on the first 245 years. (In fact, my family only got here the day before Independence Day two years ago). Today I will be celebrating with all the enthusiasm of someone that comes late to the party and has a lot of catching up to do!
