In his Gettysburg Address, Lincoln dated the founding of this country back to Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence in 1776, not to the Constitution of 1789.
Jefferson drafted the Declaration, though others edited it before it reached its final form. His draft included one of his three attempts to end slavery. Here’s an excerpt that was removed:
> “He [King George III] has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere… determined to keep open a market where MEN should be bought and sold…”
This condemnation of slavery was deleted by delegates from South Carolina and Georgia, along with northern delegates involved in the slave trade, who argued:
- It would be hypocritical, since many colonies practiced slavery.
- It might alienate southern support for independence.
(There were 26 British colonies in North America at the time, from Jamaica and Bermuda in the south to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland in the north. Only 13 of the 26 rebelled, and the founders feared losing any of them – especially the southern ones.)
Jefferson’s phrase “All men are created equal” remained, though, later emboldening Lincoln to end slavery, but his more explicit denunciation was cut out.
(It is worth noting that Jefferson also accused the King of “cutting off our trade with all parts of the world,” a direct reference to mercantile restrictions and the Navigation Acts limiting colonial commerce. That's right. A big reason we rebelled against Britain was to have free trade.)
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It seems fair to say we still have yet to fully realize our potential. And yes, many of those former southern colonies still seem inclined to believe the past – rather than the future – is the better place to live.
Hooray for the founding fathers who dared to engage in such a high-stakes experiment.
Imagine if we continued to innovate in the public sector the way we do in the private. Judging from the success of their bold experiment, continued bold experiments in the pursuit of happiness could be astounding.
The reality is, we so highly value entrepreneurship in the private sector but so little – if at all – in the public sector. That disconnect has created our current political dilemma: we’re asking voters to choose between institutions they don’t trust and a strongman they shouldn’t trust.
Our founding fathers, Lincoln and the new Republicans, and FDR each represent people and times when Americans were bold enough to experiment their way into a new future and economy.
Imagine if we were that courageous and visionary now.
Now that would be the way to truly celebrate a nation’s birthday.
Jefferson drafted the Declaration, though others edited it before it reached its final form. His draft included one of his three attempts to end slavery. Here’s an excerpt that was removed:
> “He [King George III] has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere… determined to keep open a market where MEN should be bought and sold…”
This condemnation of slavery was deleted by delegates from South Carolina and Georgia, along with northern delegates involved in the slave trade, who argued:
- It would be hypocritical, since many colonies practiced slavery.
- It might alienate southern support for independence.
(There were 26 British colonies in North America at the time, from Jamaica and Bermuda in the south to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland in the north. Only 13 of the 26 rebelled, and the founders feared losing any of them – especially the southern ones.)
Jefferson’s phrase “All men are created equal” remained, though, later emboldening Lincoln to end slavery, but his more explicit denunciation was cut out.
(It is worth noting that Jefferson also accused the King of “cutting off our trade with all parts of the world,” a direct reference to mercantile restrictions and the Navigation Acts limiting colonial commerce. That's right. A big reason we rebelled against Britain was to have free trade.)
---
It seems fair to say we still have yet to fully realize our potential. And yes, many of those former southern colonies still seem inclined to believe the past – rather than the future – is the better place to live.
Hooray for the founding fathers who dared to engage in such a high-stakes experiment.
Imagine if we continued to innovate in the public sector the way we do in the private. Judging from the success of their bold experiment, continued bold experiments in the pursuit of happiness could be astounding.
The reality is, we so highly value entrepreneurship in the private sector but so little – if at all – in the public sector. That disconnect has created our current political dilemma: we’re asking voters to choose between institutions they don’t trust and a strongman they shouldn’t trust.
Our founding fathers, Lincoln and the new Republicans, and FDR each represent people and times when Americans were bold enough to experiment their way into a new future and economy.
Imagine if we were that courageous and visionary now.
Now that would be the way to truly celebrate a nation’s birthday.
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