As They Meant It

The Declaration of Independence, adopted in July 1776 by delegates of the thirteen American colonies, is often called a founding document. More accurately, it is a formal statement crafted by a group of educated men, steeped in the political, religious, and philosophical currents of the 18th-century Anglo-European world.  

This series does not seek to judge these men, nor to glorify them. Instead, it aims to examine the philosophical structure and moral reasoning embedded in the Declaration they signed, as understood within the constraints of their era.

The Circumstances

The drafters of the Declaration were property owners, many of them lawyers, merchants, or landowners, with access to classical and Enlightenment texts. They lived in a world of hierarchy and custom, yet were exposed to new ideas: natural law, individual liberty, and the nascent concept of popular sovereignty.  

The colonies were subjects of the British Crown, with political institutions shaped by English common law and colonial assemblies. However, ultimate authority rested with a distant monarch and Parliament. Tensions had escalated over taxation, legislation, and military presence, and appeals for reconciliation had failed. The Declaration was not the start of the conflict; it was a response to it.  

The Purpose

The document begins by asserting the necessity for "one people to dissolve the political bands" that have connected them with another. It then presents a logical argument: certain truths are self-evident, rights are inherent, governments are instituted to secure these rights, and if they fail, the people may replace them.  

The language is formal, declarative, and legalistic. This tone reflects the writers' training and the pragmatic goal of the document: to justify the colonies' separation to the international community, particularly other European powers.  

The Intellectual Sources

The Declaration reflects the influence of several schools of thought:

• Natural rights theory, especially from John Locke and other Enlightenment philosophers.  

• The classical republican tradition, inherited from Greece and Rome.  

• Protestant theology, which emphasized conscience and moral accountability.

• British legal culture, with its focus on precedent, charter, and contract.

The drafters did not aim to create a new philosophy, but rather to apply existing ideas to a specific political moment.

The Language

Phrases like "all men are created equal" and "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" have since acquired meanings far beyond their original context. At the time, they were expressions of political philosophy used to justify the colonies’ right to separate.

Whether these phrases were fully understood or consistently applied by their authors is not the concern here. What matters is that the words chosen reflect an intellectual tradition shaped by the circumstances and sensibilities of a specific group of individuals, at a specific point in time.

The Structure of This Series

This series will explore the key philosophical assertions made in the Declaration as they may have been understood in their own time. It does not seek to judge the people or events, but to examine the moral and conceptual foundations upon which their claims rested.

• Natural Rights: The concept of inherent rights that predate government.  

• Consent of the Governed: The source of legitimate authority in a political society.  

• Right to Revolt: The moral justification for replacing a government.  

• Equality in Language: The use and significance of universal language in a specific context.

This is not a page about legacy. It is a page about origin. Not about fulfillment, but about formulation.

The Declaration of Independence was not written to explain the world as it should be, but to explain a political act in the language of its time.

Let us read it accordingly.