Independence Day 2023

Over the years, as I have contemplated writing my annual Independence Day message, I have found myself, many times, turning to Abraham Lincoln. This year, coming on the heels of the Supreme Court's decision regarding "affirmative action" in college admissions decisions in Students for Fair Admissions, this is especially so.

Born in 1809, Lincoln was a generation (or two, depending on how you count) removed from the Founding generation. But there is no doubt that, among all the post-Founding era presidents, Lincoln understood, and drew inspiration from, the true meaning of the self-evident "Truths" proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence – "that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

In my Independence Day 2017 message, I showed how, in his little known but eloquent address at Peoria in October 1854, Lincoln grounded his extended argument against slavery firmly in the philosophy and principles expounded in the Founders’ Declaration of 1776, not the Constitution of 1787. Invoking the Declaration's self-evident truths, Lincoln said this in 1854: "What I do say is, that no man is good enough to govern another man, without that other's consent. I say this is the leading principle---the sheet anchor of American republicanism."

Now, fast forward to February 22, 1861. On Lincoln's journey to Washington as president-elect to be inaugurated, he stopped in Philadelphia. And not just any place in Philadelphia, but at the Pennsylvania State House site where the Declaration of Independence had been signed. There Lincoln delivered some very brief remarks – in contrast to his Peoria Address which lasted over three hours. Indeed, at the site that subsequently became known as Independence Hall, Lincoln protested to the gathered crowd, "I did not expect to be called upon to say a word when I came here."

Unsurprisingly, what Lincoln did say that day was memorable. Most notably, and most pertinent as we prepare to celebrate Independence Day 2023, Lincoln declared: "I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence."

Explaining what he meant by invoking the sentiments embodied in the Declaration, Lincoln declared: "It was not the mere matter of the separation of the Colonies from the motherland; but that sentiment in the Declaration of Independence which gave liberty, not alone to the people of this country, but, I hope, to the world, for all future time. It was that which gave promise that in due time the weight would be lifted from the shoulders of all men."

The citizenry of our country is riddled with deep divisions, some involving matters of high principle and others not so much so. And, of course, our politics reflect these divisions, as it always has in our democracy, and on matters of principle that is appropriate. But I can't help believing that perhaps our politicians could find more common ground if every day, or if only occasionally, they said to themselves: "I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence."

Towards the end of his remarks in Philadelphia on that day in February 1861 at the site of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Lincoln said that if the country could not be saved without giving up on the fundamental principle of equality of all men, "I would rather be assassinated on this spot than surrender it."

Lincoln was assassinated on April 15, 1865, little more than four years later – but not before the Declaration's sentiments, which so inspired him and of which he so often spoke, had been vindicated by the Union's victory in the bloody Civil War.

I respect the views of those who disagree with Chief Justice John Roberts' majority opinion in Students for Fair Admissions. But, for me, it was time for the Supreme Court to return to the foundational equality principle at the core of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment. As the Court emphasized, pursuant to the Equal Protection Clause: "Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it."

On this Independence Day, it's appropriate to reflect on the meaning of the Declaration's self-evident truths.

Best wishes to you and your family for a safe and meaningful Independence Day 2023!

 

My previous Independence Day messages are here: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.

 

Independence Day 2022

For this Independence Day message, my sixteenth consecutive one, I want to turn to Calvin Coolidge. It may be true that Calvin Coolidge was no Thomas Jefferson. But it is also true that Coolidge, our 30^th President, is greatly underappreciated.

Coolidge was a small-government conservative. Alfred E. Smith, the Democratic nominee for President in 1928, said of Coolidge: "He was distinguished more for character than for heroic achievement" and that "his great task was to restore the dignity and prestige of the Presidency" after the scandals of the Warren Harding era. If you want to learn more, one of the best biographies is simply titled "Coolidge" by Amity Shlaes.

Coolidge acquired the nickname "Silent Cal." Upon learning of his death, writer Dorothy Parker remarked wittingly, if not somewhat cruelly, "How can they tell?"

Indeed, President Coolidge, a man with a dry sense of humor, said little that was superfluous. His address in Philadelphia on July 5, 1926, on the occasion of the celebration of the 150^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration, was anything but superfluous. Titled "The Inspiration of the Declaration of Independence," the speech deserves to be more widely read and appreciated.

While I commend Coolidge's address to you in its entirety, here are some excerpts especially worth considering this Independence Day:

"It is not so much, then, for the purpose of undertaking to proclaim new theories and principles that this annual celebration is maintained, but rather to reaffirm and reestablish those old theories and principles which time and the unerring logic of events have demonstrated to be sound. Amid all the clash of conflicting interests, amid all the welter of partisan politics, every American can turn for solace and consolation to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States with the assurance and confidence that those two great charters of freedom and justice remain firm and unshaken. Whatever perils appear, whatever dangers threaten, the Nation remains secure in the knowledge that the ultimate application of the law of the land will provide an adequate defense and protection."

"It was not because it was proposed to establish a new nation, but because it was proposed to establish a nation on new principles, that July 4, 1776, has come to be regarded as one of the greatest days in history. Great ideas do not burst upon the world unannounced. They are reached by a gradual development over a length of time usually proportionate to their importance. This is especially true of the principles laid down in the Declaration of Independence. Three very definite propositions were set out in its preamble regarding the nature of mankind and therefore of government. These were the doctrine that all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain inalienable rights, and that therefore the source of the just powers of government must be derived from the consent of the governed."

"It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people."

For words worth considering this Independence Day – and, for that matter, every day – there is no need to attempt to improve on Silent Cal's.

Best wishes to you and your family for a safe and meaningful Independence Day 2022!

 

 

 

 

My previous Independence Day messages are here: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015,  2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

 

 

 

Independence Day 2021

Each Independence Day for the past fourteen years I've written a special message, and each one has been different. You can find all of them at the bottom of this one. But this year I have decided that what I said last year serves well for 2021 and perhaps future years too.

The Independence Day message below represents my view of a proper understanding of the American founding – and I expect it always will.

It's an understanding that does not ignore the reality of America's failures, but which asserts that the way forward to securing "a more perfect Union" should always be guided by America's ideals grounded in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of 1787, and the Bill of Rights.

So, immediately below is last year's message, without alteration.

*     *     *

 To be sure, every Independence Day ought to be an exercise in memory, and a recommitment to America's fundamental ideals that the Declaration of Independence proclaims to be self-evident Truths.

And to be sure as well, on the day of the Declaration's adoption on July 4, 1776, when the Founders signed the parchment proclaiming "all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights," many of those signing were slaveholders, including Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration's principal drafter.

So, of course, there was a glaring gap on that July day between the reality of life in America with regard to race and the ideal of equality embodied in the Declaration of Independence.

This year, as we celebrate Independence Day, I suspect, in light of what has occurred in the aftermath of George Floyd's death, that many Americans will think somewhat more deeply about the meaning of the Declaration's affirmation that all men are created equal. It is undeniable that a part of our American story has been stained by racial oppression. But it is also undeniable that an important part of our story includes an ongoing struggle to overcome such oppression.

Both propositions are true. We can be ashamed of one, and proud of the other. And we can draw inspiration for coming together as Americans if we embrace the ideals expressed in the Declaration, notwithstanding the fact that its principal author held men in bondage in contravention of those ideals.

 

In today's rush to tear down statues and deface memorials, including those dedicated even to the memories of Jefferson and Lincoln, it is wrong not to recognize the difference between, mindlessly and at times lawlessly, seeking to "cancel" from our collective memory those parts of our American story that constitute grievous wrongs and those parts that ought to be unalterable guideposts.

So it is with the Declaration of Independence.

On October 16, 1854, Abraham Lincoln delivered a famous speech in Peoria, Illinois, arguing against the extension of slavery permitted by the Kansas–Nebraska Act passed by Congress earlier in the year. Lincoln was out of politics at the time, but many credit his Peoria anti-slavery speech with the beginning of his preparation for his subsequent presidential campaign.

In Peoria, Lincoln grounded his argument against the extension of slavery, and later in arguing for its abolition, squarely on the words of the Declaration:

"[N]o man is good enough to govern another man, without the other's consent. I say this is the leading principle – the sheet anchor of American republicanism. Our Declaration of Independence says:

'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. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.'

I have quoted so much at this time merely to show that according to our ancient faith, the just powers of government are derived from the consent of the governed. Now the relation of masters and slaves is, PRO TANTO, a total violation of this principle. The master not only governs the slave without his consent; but he governs him by a set of rules altogether different from those which he prescribes for himself. Allow ALL the governed an equal voice in the government, and that, and that only is self-government." [Capitalization in the original]

Invoking the Declaration's equality precept over and over again, Lincoln pleaded: "Let us re-adopt the Declaration of Independence, and with it, the practices, and policies, which harmonize with it."

Frederick Douglass was the principal speaker at the dedication on April 14, 1876, of the memorial, now known as the Emancipation Memorial, in Lincoln Park, in Washington, DC. A plaque on the monument, which was funded by donations from emancipated slaves, reads: "Freedom's Memorial in grateful memory of Abraham Lincoln."

In his dedication oration, Douglass readily acknowledged Lincoln's complexities, including many of his statements that displayed a racial bias. But he also acknowledged this about Lincoln:

"Though the union was more to him than our freedom or our future, under his wise and beneficent rule we saw ourselves gradually lifted from the depths of slavery to the heights of liberty and manhood."

And this from Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech delivered on August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, is worth remembering:

"When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was the promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

The Fourth of July is a time to celebrate the Declaration of Independence and the self-evident Truths "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." That these words were written by a flawed man – and who among us is not? – does not mean that they nevertheless should not inspire us today, as Lincoln put it, to be touched by "the better angels of our nature."

Best wishes for a safe, healthy, joyous, and meaningful Independence Day!

My previous Independence Day messages are here: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020

Independence Day 2020

To be sure, every Independence Day ought to be an exercise in memory, and a recommitment to America's fundamental ideals that the Declaration of Independence proclaims to be self-evident Truths.

And to be sure as well, on the day of the Declaration's adoption on July 4, 1776, when the Founders signed the parchment proclaiming "all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights," many of those signing were slaveholders, including Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration's principal drafter.

So, of course, there was a glaring gap on that July day between the reality of life in America with regard to race and the ideal of equality embodied in the Declaration of Independence.

This year, as we celebrate Independence Day, I suspect, in light of what has occurred in the aftermath of George Floyd's death, that many Americans will think somewhat more deeply about the meaning of the Declaration's affirmation that all men are created equal. It is undeniable that a part of our American story has been stained by racial oppression. But it is also undeniable that an important part of our story includes an ongoing struggle to overcome such oppression.

Both propositions are true. We can be ashamed of one, and proud of the other. And we can draw inspiration for coming together as Americans if we embrace the ideals expressed in the Declaration, notwithstanding the fact that its principal author held men in bondage in contravention of those ideals.

Today's rush to mindlessly, and at times lawlessly, tear down statues and deface memorials, including those dedicated even to the memories of Jefferson and Lincoln, is wrong. In seeking to erase or "cancel" from our collective memory those parts of our American story that constitute grievous wrongs, there is a real risk that historical signposts and markers that ought to be engrained in our collective memory as timeless guideposts will be sacrificed as well.

So it is with the Declaration of Independence.

On October 16, 1854, Abraham Lincoln delivered a famous speech in Peoria, Illinois, arguing against the extension of slavery permitted by the Kansas–Nebraska Act passed by Congress earlier in the year. Lincoln was out of politics at the time, but many credit his Peoria anti-slavery speech with the beginning of his preparation for his subsequent presidential campaign.

In Peoria, Lincoln grounded his argument against the extension of slavery, and later in arguing for its abolition, squarely on the words of the Declaration:

"[N]o man is good enough to govern another man, without the other's consent. I say this is the leading principle – the sheet anchor of American republicanism. Our Declaration of Independence says:

'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. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.'

I have quoted so much at this time merely to show that according to our ancient faith, the just powers of government are derived from the consent of the governed. Now the relation of masters and slaves is, PRO TANTO, a total violation of this principle. The master not only governs the slave without his consent; but he governs him by a set of rules altogether different from those which he prescribes for himself. Allow ALL the governed an equal voice in the government, and that, and that only is self-government." [Capitalization in the original]

Invoking the Declaration's equality precept over and over again, Lincoln pleaded: "Let us re-adopt the Declaration of Independence, and with it, the practices, and policies, which harmonize with it."

Frederick Douglass was the principal speaker at the dedication on April 14, 1876, of the memorial, now known as the Emancipation Memorial, in Lincoln Park, in Washington, DC. A plaque on the monument, which was funded by donations from emancipated slaves, reads: "Freedom's Memorial in grateful memory of Abraham Lincoln."

In his dedication oration, Douglass readily acknowledged Lincoln's complexities, including many of his statements that displayed a racial bias. But he also acknowledged this about Lincoln: "Though the union was more to him than our freedom or our future, under his wise and beneficent rule we saw ourselves gradually lifted from the depths of slavery to the heights of liberty and manhood."

And this from Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech delivered on August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, is worth remembering:

"When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was the promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

The Fourth of July is a time to celebrate the Declaration of Independence and the self-evident Truths "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." That these words were written by a flawed man – and who among us is not? – does not mean that they nevertheless should not inspire us today, as Lincoln put it, to be touched by "the better angels of our nature."

Best wishes for a safe, healthy, joyous, and meaningful Independence Day!

PS – My previous Independence Day messages are here: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019