Why We Read the Declaration of Independence Each July 4th - And Why We Make Others Read it, Too!

Each Independence Day, my wife Shella and I host a party at our home. This year will be different with the arrival of COVID-19, but the sentiments of our intent remain true. Usually packed with friends and family, there is but one rule for admittance - you must read the Declaration of Independence, the birth certificate of our nation, before imbibing or eating.

We provide a copy to everyone. At first, some made fun of us and tried to get to the burgers and beer without doing the requisite reading. But, our polite insistence became accepted, and fascinating conversations now ensue every year.

Too often, our founding documents are misquoted, misinterpreted, and misappropriated for superficial, political rants. But an in-depth study of the Declaration of Independence reveals the deep conversations the Founders had over the future of a new nation and the risks associated with what was to be interpreted (and intended) as a declaration of war. 

A five-person committee was established to draft the document - Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, Robert Livingston (who never signed the document), John Adams, and Roger Sherman were elected. The first draft, based on Jefferson's own preamble to the Virginia Constitution and George Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights was changed some 86 times, shortening the document by 25%. When completed, the Lee Resolution for independence was adopted on July 2nd with a 12-0 vote (New York abstained). Once passed, Congress worked through July 3rd and early July 4, 1776 to complete the Declaration itself, officially adopting it in the afternoon of July 4, 1776. It was not signed until August 2, 1776.

This exceptional clip from HBO's, "John Adams" gives a sense of the moment when 2.5 million colonists decided to free themselves from a tyrannical government.

At the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Ben Franklin famously said,

"We must, indeed, all hang together, or, most assuredly, we will all hang separately."

Interestingly, none of the signers were born American. How's that for immigration reform? 

Eat, drink, and be merry this weekend, but reflect on the courage of the Founding Fathers and those who fought the Revolutionary War. Read every line of the Declaration of Independence and ponder the commitment necessary to write the final words - "...we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

Discuss, dissent, and debate our founding and how it began the greatest democratic experiment ever - America. Transcend and rebuff vapid, polemical, ideological, uncompromising, narrow-minded arguments and transform them into reasoned, well-informed discussion and action that advances all Americans' prosperity and security, and creates a new national unity. Be the citizen that you were meant to be - informed, involved, and independent thinking.

Then, ask yourselves if we are living up to the spirit and intent of the Founders.

Happy Independence Day!

Much love,

Chris, Shella, Lucy, and ET