By Mary O’KEEFE

We will soon be celebrating the 250th year of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. From now until July 4, CVW will be highlighting some stories about this period. 

As we move toward the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, CVW reached out to two professors of history at Glendale Community College. 

Many were taught that the American Revolution started when the majority of Colonists decided to go to war with the King of England and Great Britain. The facts though are a little different. 

Historian and philosophy instructor Kevin Mack pointed out that Colonists were not Americans in 1776 as America had yet to be created.

“The majority of Colonists were either apathetic or were called ‘Loyalist,’” he said. 

Loyalist was the title given to those who wanted to stay under the King’s rule while ‘Patriot’ was the term used for those who wanted a free country. 

“The folks who did want to fight were incredibly influential, both politically and economically,” Mack added. 

Propaganda was alive and well in 1776. Newspapers would write about how the UK was not taking into consideration the views or rights of the Colonists. 

“American propaganda was successful in framing this as the British are attacking us … and whenever you’re attacked there is this kind of ‘rally around the flag’ phenomenon,” he said. 

The Colonists did not think they were part of the United States and, in fact, in the Declaration of Independence the term United States was written in lower case. The U.S. that is known today didn’t become formalized until 11 years later. 

Colonists did not come just from England but from all over, so loyalty to the King was not guaranteed.

“The idea of breaking away from Great Britain and declaring independence was contested. According to John Adams, the population of the 13 Colonies was split into thirds: one-third Patriots who supported independence, one-third Loyalists who supported the King, and one-third who remained neutral. Public discourse about the politics of colonial independence took place in public speeches, community gatherings, meetings, artwork, cartoons and pamphlets like Thomas Paine’s 1776 ‘Common Sense,’” said Michelle Stonis, history instructor at GCC.

The decision to start the Revolutionary War was a monumental one. Great Britain at that time was the world’s most powerful naval force and a world-dominating empire. And the Colonists did not even have an army when the decision was made to go to war. 

For 250 years the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were foundational to the country’s governance. So where did our Founding Fathers look toward when creating the new government?

“The United States Constitution is ‘the oldest written national framework of government in the world’ (Mintz, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History). Our government structure and Constitution were influenced by the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, which had been a functioning democracy for hundreds of years by the time Benjamin Franklin and the other members of the Committee of Five began working on the Declaration of Independence in 1776,” Stonis said. 

The Committee of Five was composed of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston and Roger Sherman. They were tasked with writing the Declaration of Independence. 

“Jefferson was the primary author,” Mack said. “He was the lead author. He sent it back to the revolutionary group that were assembled in Philadelphia [where it went] through heavy, heavy revisions.”

As with most writers, Jefferson did not like his words being changed; however, he eventually was very proud of what had been written. 

“The Declaration of Independence is really a stirring and beautiful document,” Mack said. “It’s a really stirring document that lays out these incredibly beautiful principles that have captured people’s imagination…. It’s a real high point in human history.”

He added the country continues to try to live up to the standards that are laid out in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. 

There are some who do not feel this 250th anniversary of the nation is a time to celebrate because there is so much division within the country; however, it is important to remember that discord is nothing new for the “united states.”

“When the Declaration of Independence was formally adopted on July 4, 1776, many Colonists were denied freedom, legal equality [and] political representation, such as enslaved people, women, indentured servants, Native Americans and non-landowning men. The Constitution’s preamble speaks of ‘a more perfect union,’ yet our nation has contradicted its aspirational call for liberty for all and continues to do so, even today,” Stonis said. “National histories are inherently paradoxical and calls for liberation often remain only partially fulfilled because they are shaped and enacted by imperfect humans. The 250^th celebration is about historical memory and the stories we tell ourselves about our shared past, which means not all of us will feel included or proud. The early Colonists couldn’t all agree on whether to declare independence, so perhaps it is very American and patriotic that we still can’t all agree on whether to celebrate that anniversary 250 years later. 

“If celebrating the 250^th means acknowledging the progress we’ve made as a country since 1776 and the progress that we still need to work toward for liberation for all, then count me in.”

Mack agreed.

“We’re trying to reach for the [writings] ‘we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,’” he said.

However the truths are often violated.

“I think for the last 250 years we’ve been trying to negotiate what that [writing] actually means, trying to translate that into practice,” he said. 

Mack pointed out that although the country appears to be divided now, that was also the case in 1976 during the country’s bicentennial. 

In a radio program then-President Richard M Nixon said: “The Bicentennial is not going to be invented in Washington, printed in triplicate by the Government Printing Office, mailed to you by the U.S. Postal Service, and filed away in your public library.

“Instead, we shall seek to trigger a chain reaction of tens of thousands of individual celebrations – large and small – planned and carried out by citizens in every part of America. We have already made substantial progress toward that goal…. The success of the Bicentennial will be measured by the number of people who participate in it.”

It should be noted, however, that Richard Nixon resigned about two years prior to the bicentennial due to the Watergate investigation. 

At the time, the country was divided: pros and cons surrounded America’s inclusion in Vietnam and the economy was in trouble. The national celebration fizzled but grassroots efforts took off. 

Individual communities that made up the United States celebrated in their own ways. It was the “colonies” so to speak that celebrated the survival of this government “experiment.” 

“I think there’s something really fitting about that,” Mack said of localized celebrations. He added the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 but Americans struggled with the Articles of Confederation government for about a decade.

“I think it’s still a pretty incredible achievement that a bunch of dudes got together in the 1780s [and] came up with a solution that still remains with us amid social media,” Mack said.