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What is the single most important sentence ever written by an American?
I believe it is this one from the Declaration Of Independence:
âWe 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.â
On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. That sentence, written by Thomas Jefferson, became the cornerstone of what America would be.
Of course, we know that the Founding Fathers fell far short of their fantastic vision for America. The genius Jefferson held human beings against their will and forced them to work for him. Jefferson recognized this hypocrisy on some level. Regarding slavery, he wrote:Â
“I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.”
John Adams, the passionate patriot who did more than any man to make the Declaration of Independence a reality, was happily married to a brilliant woman. Abigail Adams was denied the rights of citizenship and voting. Mrs. Adams reminded her husband:
“…in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors… Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”
Some of the men who crossed the Delaware with Washington on Christmas night, 
1776, could not vote because they did not own property.
The brutal treatment of Native Americans, myriad instances of religious intolerance, the list of sins committed by the men who signed the Declaration of Independence is vast. Some politicians are demanding that our history be taught non-critically. I think that is exactly the wrong solution!
America in 2021 is facing an unprecedented reckoning. As a nation, we are reconsidering our treatment of people of color throughout our history. We stare at statues of men who killed American soldiers, sailors, and marines, desperately willing to kill in order to maintain their right to enslave, sell, rape, and use other human beings. We ask if those monuments should stand. I say that the Declaration of Independence already answered that question. In one breathtaking sentence.
While it is important to remember our history in its totality, including the bad, we should take time today to ponder and praise the patriots who signed the Declaration Of Independence – the document containing that world-changing promise.
Our amazing Constitution, which provides us with greater rights than had ever been given to any people on the earth, grew out of the Declaration of Independence. Please think of the Constitution as our bylaws, and the Declaration of Independence is our mission statement. That sentence reflected the belief that the American experiment was just beginning, that our nation would grow and improve and never stop improving.
The Declaration of Independence was a promissory note. It was a promise to future generations that the ideals of the Revolutionary War would not disappear when the military battles had ended.Â
When Abraham Lincoln sent troops to the south to suppress a racist rebellion – ultimately freeing millions of human beings held against their will – he quoted that sentence from the Declaration of Independence.
Consider how that sentence reappears at key moments of our history.
When Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized a nationwide movement to guarantee women the rights of citizenship and suffrage, they quoted that most important sentence.
When Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial and proclaimed, âI Have a Dream,â he quoted that most important sentence.Â
As brilliant and as farsighted as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Paul Revere, and George Washington proved to be, even they could never have imagined the America that would grow from that single sentence. America has grown and changed. But we always seem to return to that sentence.Â
Today we may disagree about what that sentence means and how we should achieve it. As we disagree, we should remember that our freedom of speech grew out of that sentence. We may vote for politicians with vastly different opinions of what that sentence means. Our right to vote grew out of that sentence. Our freedom to worship where we want, live in an integrated society, to pursue the American dream all grow out of that sentence.Â
Perfect! And especially today we need to think and meditate on what our country means to us as an individual as well as everyone as a whole.
Judy, I agree completely. We need a sense of common purpose in this country, Jefferson said in his inaugural address “Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle.” We need that attitude among all our politicians!
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Having lived during WWII, Korea, stationed in Berlin in the Cold War, Vietnam, Middle East Wars, Civil Right Movements, murders of Presidents and leaders; this country somehow held together. “There is no place like home, Toto”
Bill,
THANK YOU for your service!
And AMEN to your sentiment. I served in the Peace Corps and it only heightened my appreciation for the freedoms we enjoy.
Barry
Oneâs effort to restrict others from enjoying these rights will at some point result in theIr own forfeiture of those same rights. Beware of the oppressedâs ability to obtain what is due them.
You nailed it!
Sadly it is not observed faithfully by too many folks.
This reminds of an event years ago. Folks had a petition going in the Chicago Loop. It was the Bill of Rights. Many folks refused to sign, several saying it was some Commie bs..
The most important sentence? You have chosen well, Barry, and you have presented your choice in a most beautifully written essay. Thaank you!
For far too long WE THE PEOPLE have sanctified and praised a group of people who
1. Thought it was okay to OWN other human beings.
2. Were fine with denying women the right to vote or even own property.
3. Couldn’t write the second amendment without making it as ambiguous as possible.
Sorry, but these “TITANS” of history need to be held up to the clear light of day. For all of those who think that you need to consider the era in which they lived…NONSENSE. Morality doesn’t change with the times.
Well put, Barry. Maybe you need to present a lecture in D.C.? Have a happy and safe 4th of July.
Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone. In spite of the flaws of our Country’s forefathers, they laid a firm foundation. There are skeletons in everyone’s closet and we often rue the many hasty comments and/or gestures we have used. We cannot be responsible for another’s sins, but, please, Lord, give us the benefit of learning and forgiving.
From a sermon I heard recently: we need to listen with humility to even those with differing opinions; we need to try to create bridges between worlds that have stopped talking to each other; we need to create a link between words and worlds! My daughter also served in the Peace Corps (Ghana) and it changed her life. She is now serving in the State Department on the Africa desk! Barry, where did you serve?
Very well- written article!
America was founded on freedoms that should never be taken for granted. May our country always strive to go forward. Happy (soon to be) Fourth of July everyone.
Barry, thanks for another thought provoking and timely article.
Let us not forget our history but continue to learn from all aspects of that history. While the founders of this nation were not perfect, as none of us are, let’s honor what they did and continue to build from the foundations they established.
Barry: As always, Excellent, succinct presentation of each American’s rights that were promised in the Dec of Independence, with the future goal of fulfilment for All Americans in past, present, and future generations. Its a LIVING promise of rights.
I, too, served in military as Air Force Nurse from VietNam to Gulf war 1. I served All patients under my care, ALL peoples and their families who were serving their country.
We also need to remember a warning for each American provided by George Washigton in his farewell address “frown upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts”
Thank you, Barry, for your beautiful reminder of a tenet this country was built on.
You insinuate that we should remove statues of men who did the immoral things you wrote of in your paragraph beginning with “America in 2020 is facing an unprecedented reckoning.”
I agree with this, in terms of Confederate war generals and other infamous characters. However, I am not in favor of taking down statues of George Washington or Jefferson, even though they owned slaves. Nor do I want to take down Mount Rushmore, even though some say it is offensive.
I visited Monticello last year with my family, and the most memorable part was a well-attended tour of Slave Row with a diverse audience, led by a man who solemnly discussed the racial atrocities carried out by Jefferson and his staff. Our visit to Monticello (a monument to Jefferson himself, in a way) was a prelude to learning and study we had on the tour. Had Monticello not been preserved and kept as a museum, we wouldn’t have had that shared learning experience.
I am struggling here with this debate, because I want Confederate general statues removed, but I want to protect more conflicted characters like Washington and Jefferson, even if they held slaves. I prefer a middle ground – that will be hard (or impossible) for our society to agree upon.
As a historian, do you draw a line as to which historical figures should have their monuments removed, and which should be allowed to stand? Where is that line? And what path can we, as a culture, take to come to agreement on that? And who should be allowed to decide? This is becoming an increasingly divisive topic in our country.
I canât remember the author of the book,âLies My History Teacher Taught Meâ.
There are some informative chapters in it. Some may be interested in discovering
them.
Hi, Sam
I’m very familiar with the book. Many of the criticisms leveled in it are completely fair. The larger problem is that we do not prioritize the teaching of history in the United States. Many Americans take American history twice. Once in eighth grade and once in 11th grade. Trying to give a comprehensive and analytical view of history that spends 300 years in a short teaching calendar year is not feasible. We should be requiring every American student to take multiple years of United States history in order to help them not fall for conspiracy theories and to be able to think critically about what we have done to shape this great country.
Barry
Outstanding tribute to our founders.. You are always fair.
Thank you. I really do try to be fair. The founding fathers were humans and humans are fallible. Our country is great but not every part of our history is something we can be proud of. I am passionate about Americans learning their history!
Barry
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Elmer was a true patriot. It is tragic that he died as he did, before having the chance to prove himself for a noble cause and to lead his âZouaveâsâ from New York in battle.