In the early nineteenth century, there was debate, driven by the institution of slavery, about the foundational aspects of America. It focused on both the morality and legality of slavery given the Declaration of Independence’s proclamation that all men are created equal and have inalienable rights including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Abolitionists maintained the Constitution’s three-fifths clause abjectly contradicted that assertion and cited those words for the justification for abolishing slavery.
After the 1857 Dred Scott decision, which declared slaves to be property and, as such, could be transported by their “owners” wherever they wanted, Abraham Lincoln eviscerated Stephen Douglas’s defense of it.
“Suppose after you read it [the Declaration of Independence] in the old-fashioned way,” Lincoln said, “you read it once more in Judge Douglas’ version: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all British subjects on this continent eighty-one years ago, were created equal to all British subjects born and then residing in Great Britain.’”
Lincoln’s argument was that when the Declaration of Independence was written, we were Americans, not British subjects, so therefore the words of the document applied to everyone living within the jurisdiction of America, slaves included. Beyond slavery though, Lincoln’s stance prompted the question about when the early settlers and their descendants became Americans and when the American Nation came into existence.
As you might imagine, settling on a specific date is debatable. I hold it was when the first settlers stepped ashore and decided to stay, first in Jamestown then soon after at Plymouth. That’s when the seeds of the American Nation were sown. It just took about a century and a half for them to realize it and to do something about it.
The evolution of our national identity and culture, like all evolutionary processes, would be an ongoing process, morphing over the centuries. But the core uniting element in the DNA of America’s soul, as I posit in “An Article of Faith,” remained. It was and continues to be freedom. Its iterations—political, economic, and personal—and breadth continue to be an ongoing tug-and-pull and will for time eternal, that is if we and our progeny fight to preserve it like past generations of Americans did.
When I converse with folks, some highly educated, I’m sometimes surprised by their superficial understanding of our history. One friend, while making a point about how no one ever succeeds on their own, cited Lincoln as an example. He stated that Lincoln was successful because of the great team around him. Although I understood what he was getting at, internally I felt compelled to shift our conversation to another direction.
“No, no, no!,” I wanted to interject. “You don’t get it. Yes, Lincoln was surrounded by a few amazingly strong individuals, but it was far more complicated than that.” And then explain how it was only through Lincoln’s personal genius, shrewd political acumen, and steadfast resolve that the Union survived and the rebellion was crushed.
Happily, others have a deep appreciation for its complexity. One offered an interesting perspective on our current troubles. He sees it as a wakeup call for Americans. I wholeheartedly agree. In history teacher lingo, we’re taking a real-time, interactive, hands-on, sneakers-on-the-ground course in civics. We’ll earn a group grade upon completion. It won’t be on the traditional A-to-F scale, however. It’ll be a pass/fail grade.
A great opportunity to broaden your understanding of America’s official beginning will happen on November 16th when the Ken Burns’ series, The American Revolution premiers on PBS. I encourage you to watch it. Even if you’re a Revolutionary War buff, you’ll likely learn more than you already know.
When watching Burns’ documentary on Ben Franklin, I learned much about Ben I hadn’t known. One was when Ben stood stone faced before the King George’s Privy Council as they berated and humiliated him. Until that moment, Ben wasn’t onboard with independence. In fact, he was working to smooth the tensions between the Crown and the Americans. But after the debasing scenario, Ben became a committed revolutionary. In the words of the narrator, Ben walked into the council a British subject and out as an American.
Burns posits the American Revolution is the most important event in world history since the birth of Christ. If you think deeply about it, it’s hard to argue otherwise.
After the war, Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, stated, “The American war is over, but this is far from being the case with the American Revolution. On the contrary, nothing but the first act of the great drama is closed. Your country demands your services; the Revolution is not over. ”
Truer words were never spoken.
