Our Nation's Birth Certificate

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The Fourth of July. A day that elicits images of Old Glory gently gracing the wind, marching bands trumpeting out beloved patriotic tunes and families gathering for that special time of leisure and kinship. As evening approaches, people of all ages can be seen eagerly huddling together at beaches, parks and stadiums to watch as fireworks rouse a slumbering sky.

Yet on this most meaningful of days, do we pause to think about what it is that we are celebrating? We are, of course, commemorating the birth of our nation, a nation that sprang forth from the words of a simple, yet momentous document known as the Declaration of Independence. Magnificent in its language and profound in its content, this document would ultimately prove to be the most significant secular civil writing in the history of humanity.

When our forefathers founded our country, they needed an instrument that would clearly mark the point of origin for the nation. The founding fathers needed to design a legal mechanism that would breathe life into this new entity. The Declaration of Independence is the physical record of the inception of our country, the tangible communication that authenticated our civil aspirations. In essence, it is the birth certificate of our nation.

In looking at the masterwork known as the Declaration of Independence, we can observe five natural divisions of this creation: the Justification, the Moral Basis, the Indictment, the Denunciation of the British People, and the Resolution.

The Justification is outlined in the first paragraph, which is merely a single sentence long:

"When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitles them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

The opening phrase sets the American Revolution within the whole occurrence of human circumstances. It asserts that the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle America to a separate and equal status within this earthly realm. In its quest for acquiescence of the opinions of mankind, it dignifies the Revolution as a contest involving principle, proclaiming the cause of moral legitimacy.

The phrase "laws of nature and of nature's God" refers to an older concept known as natural law; that is, the standards of fairness, justice and mercy are rooted in a divine source and are engraved upon our hearts. It is the notion that human beings possess an innate knowledge of what constitutes virtue and what does not.

These same natural law concepts are the underpinnings of the natural rights philosophy upon which the essence of the Declaration relies. Natural law provides the sound explanation as to how a consensus about what is morally right and morally wrong could possibly be sustained by people over the ages. The shared agreement is part of the inherent makeup of human beings. It has been provided to us and implanted in us by our Creator.

The expression "laws of nature's God" refers to those precepts that have additionally been revealed to us in the Scriptures, particularly those explicit ethical criteria that are imparted in definitive biblical expositions, such as the Ten Commandments.

And so it followed, because the Declaration of Independence was built upon a foundation of rules and a moral consensus that came from the Almighty, the laws of nature and of nature's God entitled the American people to a decent respect for their opinions. It also required that they outwardly express the causes that compelled them to break away.

It was significant that Jefferson and his collaborators referred to the colonists as one people and the British as another. This had various implications in the Declaration of Independence. It reinforced the idea that dissolving what it called the political bands with England was essential and that the gulf between them was more than a geographic or political gap. The breach simply could not be restored.

The second section of the Declaration, the Moral Basis, is the primary component of the document. It is the most famous and, not surprisingly, the most moving portion. It is universal in its tone and never specifically talks about the conflict between the colonies and Great Britain. Rather, it outlines a philosophy of government. The prose style is supremely eloquent, and one word follows another as if each sound and meaning were predestined to appear.

"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. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."

The philosophy of government presented in these words is brilliant in its simplicity and inspired in its design. Two very fundamental questions are asked and answered in the delivery. The first is, where do rights come from? The second is, where does government derive its power?

The words of the Declaration explain that rights come from a divine source. As a people, we are endowed by our Creator with unalienable rights. These rights cannot be removed and they cannot be taken away.

Where then does government obtain its power? Just power is conferred through the consent of the governed. The consent is granted through what is called a social contract. We the people benevolently bestow certain limited powers upon the government through another document, the Constitution.

This, in a nutshell, is the concept of limited government. Unalienable rights and limited government are the very pillars upon which our American system is based.

There are five propositions in the Moral Basis of the Declaration of Independence that build upon each other.

First, all men are created equal. The word "created" establishes a view of human beings that presupposes an intrinsic dignity. Men and women are not the product of accidental occurrence but are the consequence of intelligent design. Accordingly, the life of an individual has purpose, meaning and sacred significance.

Because we believe that all people are created equal, no person is more equal than another in the eyes of the law. Unlike the monarchies at the time of the signing of the Declaration, or the totalitarian regimes of subsequent eras, this ideal refers to a determination of humanity that is not made by mere human institutions, but only by the hand of the Supreme Judge of the world.

Second, all men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. These rights do not come from the government. Rather, they already exist within us. These rights and powers are an inherent grant that proceeds, not from the state or any of its subordinates, but from the very Throne of Heaven.

Third, among these unalienable rights are the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Life is properly listed first, for the right to life is the ultimate unalienable right. The list of unalienable rights is not meant to be exhaustive, but it is intended to exemplify those rights that are of most consequence to the moral foundation of our newly declared independence. The concept of due process contained within the Bill of Rights safeguards the unalienable rights of life, liberty and property.

Fourth is the proposition that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men and derive their just power from the consent of the governed. Power is, therefore, not determined by might or by majority. It is determined by a consent that is benevolently given to the government by the people. This consent is manifested by a social contract called the Constitution. This means that government’s power is limited and individual rights are secured through that limitation.

This leads to the fifth proposition, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, the ends being to secure these unalienable rights, it is the right of the people to either alter or abolish it.

The third section of the Declaration, the Indictment, can be compared to a legal document that a prosecutor would prepare. It outlines the grievances that the colonists had against King George III in the same manner that a lawsuit or a criminal indictment would. The drafters of the Declaration provided an exhaustive list of charges against this king.

The Indictment section begins with a transitional sentence that immediately follows the Moral Basis. It says, "Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of governments." This is the first emphasis on the conflict between colonial America and Britain.

The Indictment is then brought into full view with legal accusatory language: "The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states." It must be noted that most 18th-century readers would be reluctant to accept as self-evident the indictment of the king. Because a criminal indictment required facts and proof, a statement of the facts directly follows the accusation.

There are 28 specific grievances, and they are introduced in this way: "To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world."

The facts presented would indeed prove that King George III was a tyrant. There are charges that the king abused his executive power by suspending colonial laws, dissolving colonial legislatures, obstructing the administration of justice and maintaining a standing army during peacetime.

There are charges that King George III collaborated with others and with Parliament to subject America to a variety of unconstitutional legislation. Accusations included such infringements as taxing without consent, cutting off trade with the rest of the world and eliminating due process rights.

Further charges spoke of the king’s violence, cruelty and waging of war against Americans. A whole litany of violent acts is chronicled. The first 22 grievances describe the actions of King George III with words such as refused, called together, dissolved and endeavored. But the last grievances, the war grievances, use verbs such as plundered, ravaged, burnt and destroyed. These grievances established proof of the king’s plan to reduce the colonies under what Thomas Jefferson referred to as "absolute despotism."

The section on the war grievances also contains the final charge against King George III – that there had been repeated petitions for redress of grievances, which had produced nothing but repeated injury.

Despite the painful and urgent nature of the predicament, many parts of the country had not endured serious physical and economic hardships and perhaps had not suffered deeply enough. This may explain the emotional quality within the section, for it was clear that support for the idea of independence was still needed in the nation.

As late as May 1776, John Adams said that while there was strong support for the idea of an independent United States in New England and in the South, the middle colonies were not quite as strongly behind the movement because "they had never tasted the bitter cup." Thomas Paine recognized this fact, and one of the reasons that he released his famous pamphlet, Common Sense, was to bring home the idea of independence to those middle colonies.

The Denunciation section follows the attachment of facts in the indictment of King George III. This sequence is significant because the American people demonstrated that in addition to seeking redress from the Crown, they were also appealing to their fellow citizens, the people of Great Britain.

In its shift of attention away from King George III to fellow brethren in Britain, the Denunciation takes on a poetic quality. With an aura of frustration and sadness, the British people are described as "deaf to the voice of justice." The words express a reluctant recognition of the realities of war that can transform friends and even brothers into enemies.

After going through all of the various steps – the separation had been justified, the moral basis had been set forth, the facts for the indictment had been enumerated, and a denunciation of the British brethren had been made – all that was left was to state what action was to be taken.

The Resolution says, "We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved. ... And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor."

The final sentence of the Resolution is extremely important. It contains not merely words for these 56 signers, but solemn commitments to place their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor directly on the line.

They were in fact men of honor, whose motives and actions could withstand the closest of scrutiny, men of true character. By signing the Declaration of Independence, they became capital criminals in the eyes of the Crown. They signed the document knowing full well that they were, in reality, subject to death as a consequence of their actions.

As a matter of fact, of the 56 men who signed the Declaration, five were captured by the British, labeled as traitors and tortured before they died. Twelve of them had their homes ransacked and burned, two lost their sons in the war, another two had sons who were captured, and nine of the 56 fought and died in the war itself.

Many of the founders had great wealth at the time of the signing of the Declaration, but died penniless. Others saw their families broken apart and had to witness their loved ones fleeing for their lives. These men were heroes in the true sense of the word and to the fullest extent lived up to the promises that they had made.

And so it is that the Fourth of July is more than just a celebration of a birth. It marks the beginning of a unique system of government in the history of humanity. A new kind of nation was born on July 4, 1776 – a constitutional republic, where the people wholeheartedly believed and publicly announced that their rights came from the very Throne of Heaven.

At the time the Declaration of Independence was signed, the population of the American colonies was about 2,300,000 people. By pledging their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor, 56 of these stalwart people made a huge difference in their society, in their country, and in the course of the world.

Today, if we gauge the same proportion, we would need a little over 6,000 Americans to step forward and make a similar pledge, a pledge to take the kind of dedicated action needed to effect substantive, positive change in America.

The clarion call of the Declaration of Independence continues to ring out today. America is in need of a national revival, a restoration of the principles inherent in the Declaration. If, as a society, we wish to continue to enjoy the blessings of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, we must affirm the righteousness of these principles and seek a fuller understanding of their essence.

How was it that our founding fathers were able to accept such a heavy mantle and begin down a path that was riddled with uncertainty and fraught with danger? It was because they possessed a love of country, a passion for liberty, an abundance of faith and a courage that subsumed fear.

We are their sons and daughters. Their noble qualities await the acknowledgement of our inheritance. We need only to cultivate the seeds of these traits that lie within our souls. We have their words and their remembrances to guide us. With the blessings of God, let this be the year we set out to restore the greatness that is reflected in that treasured document, Our Nation's Birth Certificate.