Did you know that Thomas Jefferson’s original draft of the Declaration of Independence did not include the phrase “self-evident”? He originally wrote in the rough draft, “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable…” Benjamin Franklin changed the draft to read, “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” In Walter Isaacson’s “The Greatest Sentence Ever Written” (The Greatest Sentence Ever Written (2025), Simon & Schuster), we discover the history of the phrase “self-evident truth” (pages 7-9). It started with a friendship between Franklin and Scottish philosopher David Hume.
The History Behind “Self-Evident Truth” in the Declaration
In his book, Walter Isaacson describes the friendship between Franklin and Hume as one where “They spent their evenings together discussing ideas of natural rights, social contracts, and the revolutionary stirrings rising in the American colonies.” This led to Hume’s philosophical theory of truths: one is “synthetic,” and the other is “analytic.”
The Philosophical Roots of “Self-Evident” in America’s Founding Texts
In short, an analytic truth is easily discernible without the need to conduct research to see if it is true. You don’t have to survey people to see whether they are equal. They are born as autonomous individuals, endowed by their Creator to be free and independent. Now, don’t confuse this with being born financially equal or with equal benefits. For our purposes, think of it this way: All people have an inherent right given to us by our Creator to be free and independent, not owned by the State, a King, Emperor, etc. Isaacson is quick to point out that this idea was revolutionary and debatable.
Why “We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident” Still Matters Today
Nonetheless, the Declaration of Independence, as one of our founding documents, asserts that we are created to be a free and independent people with certain unalienable rights. In our next installment of this book study, we will look at the meaning of “unalienable rights.”
How might understanding “self-evident” in this context change the way we read the Declaration of Independence?
This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship. 🇺🇸
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