Letter from the Editors
“A lady asked Dr. Franklin Well Doctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy – A republic replied the Doctor if you can keep it.”
—from the journal of James McHenry, September 18, 1787
McHenry’s story may or may not be factual. The woman in question, Elizabeth Willing Powel, said she didn’t recall asking the question. But even if the story is fiction, it serves as a reminder that while texts like the Declaration and the Constitution are far more than just pieces of paper, they require the active commitment and work of Americans to sustain and support them, lest they become merely paper.
Bradley Rebeiro’s lead essay this month considers the ways in which the grand promises of equality contained in the Declaration were not an enshrining of a truth that existed for all Americans, but an arrow pointing toward a goal, pointing toward a time when that hope could be fulfilled.Tim Sandefur’s pamphlet commentary shows us a bit of the necessary work by looking into Franklin’s own annotations and arguments made to a pamphlet he disagreed with. Both essays are a reminder that there is always, has always been, and will always be, work to be done.
The hopes and promises outlined in the Declaration and the scaffolding put beneath them in the Constitution are ours. But as Franklin might have reminded us, if we want them, it is our responsibility, our right, and our honor to ensure that we keep them.
This Month's Further Reading and Listening
Last month, our lead essayist asked “What Begins Where the Declaration Ends?” This month Bradley Rebiero expands on this question by asking what specific promises the Declaration makes concerning equality. We have collected a group of additional sources to help you continue to consider what place equality holds in the American past, present, and future.
Video
Gordon Wood on Equality
Book
Democracy in America
Essay
Adam Smith on Slavery
Forum
Tocqueville and Equality
Symposium
Assessing the 1619 Project
Countdown to the Declaration
New material every month as we explore the Declaration's past, present, and future.
5
months to go
Equality
Anything But Compromising
Writing a Declaration that could secure support required compromises and negotiations: How did these compromises chart the course of, or delay the recognition of equality for coming generations?
Political Institutions
Republican Government after the Digital Revolution
Does technology fundamentally alter the basis for representative government? Does it give us cause to reconsider the principles of the Declaration?
Philosophy & Theology
Against Authority
How important are religious and Enlightenment ideas to the concepts in the Declaration? Are these influences necessarily in conflict?
Political Economy
Economic Wisdom for Tumultuous Times
Why do we find ourselves refighting the same debates between open markets and mercantilism that preoccupied the 18th century?
Education
Educational Experience and the Challenge to Empire
What in the Founders’ education prepared them to be able to craft the Declaration? To what degree did it challenge the ideals of empire?
Liberty and Tyranny
Conditions of Revolution: Sic Sometimes Tyrannis
What sustains liberty? Does the Declaration offer a model for future political resistance to tyrants?
Find the full list of months, including archived and upcoming themes, on our Countdown page.
We are a private educational foundation that encourages thought and discussion of enduring issues about liberty.
Liberty Fund offers a rich set of educational programs. These include Socratic-style conferences, thought-provoking books, and engaging online resources focused on the understanding and appreciation of the complex nature of a free and responsible society.