This last week we experienced the kind of beautiful weather that only Alaska with its majestic scenic beauty can provide. Along with all the hoopla surrounding the celebration of one of our most revered national holidays, it made it possible to imagine the excitement our founding fathers felt 240 years ago as our nation embarked on its grand experiment. Facing challenges, Americans felt a sense of hope, tinged with uncertainty, that our nation would prevail.
On July 4, 1776, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, steeple bells rang throughout Philadelphia. John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, had just signed the document that later became known as the United States Declaration of Independence. The actual vote for independence by the Second Continental Congress took place two days before on July 2. Twelve of the colonies voted in favor with New York forced to abstain as they lacked specific authorization to vote by their provincial congress.
Thomas Jefferson along with a smaller committee had been tasked with drafting the declaration document that further ratified the vote and was our formal explanation of why the 13 American colonies sought independence from Great Britain.
Jefferson’s original draft, including changes made by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, and Jefferson’s notes of changes made by Congress, are preserved at the Library of Congress. Another signed version of the Declaration is displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
Early celebrations of Independence Day largely ignored the document. Later, as our young nation began taking shape, the Declaration’s statement on human rights, as reflected particularly in its preamble, influenced the view of many prominent Americans and contributed to later debates regarding slavery and women’s suffrage.
“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.”
Despite its importance, other documents in our history overshadow the Declaration — such as our Constitution (including the first 10 amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights) and the Gettysburg Address. Yet, at its core, the importance of the Declaration lies in making the case for limited government and its indictment of the tyranny of a leader with too much power. For all the reasons listed in the Declaration of Independence, our new government was founded with three independent branches resulting in the system of checks and balances that protect our individual liberties today.
Now more than ever, the words in our Declaration of Independence should be guiding the actions of our president, our congress and our judiciary. Instead, political agendas take precedence. Executive actions are justified based on political goals instead of constitutional authority. Judicial decisions often re-write laws instead of interpreting them. Congress is ineffectual in legislating change and unable to enforce its “power of the purse.”
Various legends about the signing of the Declaration seem prescient today. In one famous story, John Hancock supposedly said that Congress, having signed the Declaration, must now “all hang together,” and Benjamin Franklin replied: “Yes, we must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
Unfortunately, today, we are a nation divided. Instead of firmly following our Founding Fathers’ principles many Americans fall in line behind popular personalities that seek to polarize us. Despite our historical common purpose, our leaders today make little effort to unite us but instead seemingly work to divide us.
This should concern everyone. Our “grand experiment” is veering away from its original principles and is hurtling down a path that will be difficult to reverse. James Madison understood the dangers we faced in this regard when he wisely observed in Federalist Paper No. 51: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. In framing agovernment which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
A leader who is able to embody the principles of the Declaration and unite the majority of Americans once again in a common purpose under the rule of law will be the leader who restores a strong and vital America — a nation envisioned by our Founding Fathers that will endure.
• Win Gruening retired as the senior vice president in charge of business banking for Key Bank in 2012. He was born and raised in Juneau and graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1970. He is active in community affairs as a 30-plus year member of Juneau Downtown Rotary Club and has been involved in various local and statewide organizations.
