the declaration
More than the vast Atlantic Ocean separated the American colonies from Europe in 1776. Almost one and a half years into a military struggle with England, the American rebels were poised to open a new chapter in the history of the world; they had decided that it was time for a complete separation from the land of their fathers. But, was Jefferson merely referring to a political dissolution of the “political bands” which had tied them to England? Or, was something much more profound happening; was a chasm forming between the ideas of history and a vision of the future?
Much of the “Declaration” is either a listing of the “injuries and usurpations” inflicted by George III upon his American colonists or an assurance to a curious Europe that the Americans had not been acting hastily or for “light and transient causes….” Embedded; nestled, as it were, in Jefferson’s prose was the seed of an idea. When nourished with the blood and ashes of war, this seed would sprout and mature. Within 150 years, this idea would allow America to attain a pre-eminent place in the world.
All “men are created equal….” What makes this so? Our “Creator” has given us rights, rights which are intrinsic to being human. These are gifts, then, from the divine; gifts which make us the same in the eyes of Him who created us! Logically, these gifts need to be guarded. And then, we see it – the idea which shook the very foundations of history; the concept which at once threatened and doomed every crowned head in Europe: people, in order to protect their rights, create governments.
Gone were the privileges of the rulers. Gone was the divine right of monarchy. Gone was the enslavement of the ruled. In their places—Liberty! Those who govern get their power from the governed. The state serves the people.
For what other reason could a government exist? To Jefferson, a man of the Enlightenment, logic dictated the answer—namely, nothing. There had been revolutions before, history was littered with them. But, here, in the writings of a colonial farmer, was the Word — the Logos — and the word was the beginning: Consent. The people give their consent to be ruled. It is not their fate to be ruled; it is not their duty to be ruled; it is their choice to be ruled. This concept, which started America down a new path, completely severed all ties with the Old World and made us the beacon of freedom which would light the world for centuries to come.
