250 years on, do we know what we're celebrating?
“We 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.”
“We 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.”
But when Thomas Jefferson wrote those immortal words in the summer of 1776, these truths were far from self-evident to most of humanity. Demonstrating their truth is among the main purposes and foundational principles of the nation to which the Declaration of Independence helped give birth.
On July 4, 2026, the United States of America will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our Independence Day and the 200th anniversary of the deaths of two of our founders: John Adams and Jefferson. I encourage everyone to learn more about the American Revolution and the intellectual, moral and political movements that gave shape to what Adams called “the most complete, unexpected, and remarkable [revolution] of any in the history of nations.”
There are many books, documentaries and entertaining films available:
John Adams, by David McCullough, is a magnificent and Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of our second president. HBO made a splendid television series by the same name, which dramatizes the events leading to the Revolution and the first years of our new republic.
Rick Atkinson has written two of three planned volumes on our founding. The two published works are The British Are Coming and The Fate of the Day. His third volume is still being written. This series is a deep dive into the causes, means and effects of the War for Independence. Atkinson appears many times in the new documentary by Ken Burns, The American Revolution, which is also available for streaming from several sources.
A lighter note can be found in the wonderful 1972 film 1776, based on a Broadway musical. It is a fictional account of the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence but is faithful to the main facts of those dramatic days. It provides a sense of the dangers and possibilities faced by our new nation.
Robert Reilly’s America on Trial: A Defense of the Founding is an intellectual history. It was written to defend the origin and structure of our republic from critics on both the left and right sides of the aisle who misunderstand what the American Revolution accomplished. The book also details how our revolution is different from others, including the French Revolution.
Come this July 4, let us be prepared for a worthy celebration of our 250th Independence Day.
Father Jay Scott Newman is the pastor of St. Mary Church in Greenville, and the chancellor and vicar for canonical services for the diocese. Email him at jsnewman@charlestondiocese.org.
