What is the Declaration of Independence Reaffirmation Act of 2026? The Senate unanimously passed the Declaration of Independence Reaffirmation Act of 2026 (S. 4828), which reaffirms the Declaration of Independence as an Organic Law of the United States. The exact wording of the Declaration is included in the bill to ensure its preservation. However, the […]
The Power of Respectful Dissent: Lessons from John Dickinson
Who Was John Dickinson? John Dickinson of Pennsylvania did not support the Declaration of Independence. Instead of organizing a rebellion to overthrow the government, circulating propaganda against office holders, or taking his bat and ball and going home, Dickinson debated John Adams of Massachusetts on July 1, 1776. (Calvert, 2023) Our earliest Americans understood that […]
Take this Short American Founders Quiz!
How well do you know your American Founders? I’ve spent the past year reading about our Founders, and I’m fascinated by their lives. Take a short quiz to find out. There were 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. I chose ten with background facts that may help you identify them. Here we go! Your […]
From Victimhood to Civic Responsibility
It’s admirable that many of us take on the hard work of preserving our Republic — our Founders warned that eternal vigilance is required to keep liberty. But defeatism (e.g. “We are doomed as a nation!”) won’t protect our rights: victimhood is not a strategy. Responsibility and local action are. Why Victimhood Fails Blaming “others” […]
Deeply Divided: Rekindling Civic Virtues and Values
One of our participants in Common Sense Civics and Citizenship expressed concerns that our nation’s divisiveness may be irreparable for these reasons: -He says two, maybe 3 generations have been indoctrinated rather than educated. -This participant believes such indoctrination has negatively altered our country’s core values. -He argues that coping with these […]
Rediscovering Civics: How Culture Hides the Declaration’s Claims
What is the most disputed American concept these days? It is found in the Declaration of Independence. “…that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights..” Here are three reasons why Americans would dispute this claim as untrue: First, they might be receiving their civics lessons from their favorite t.v. personalities, popular unbelieving […]
Teaching the Declaration Still Matters Today
As the school year winds down, I am preparing a Jr. High civics lesson on the reasons to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. Why the Declaration Still Matters Today, many in our country don’t seem to understand the brilliance of the Declaration of Independence. Instead of embracing that our rights come from God, they place their […]
Rediscovering Common Ground: Binding a Nation
What does it actually mean to find common ground in our nation today? Let’s continue our discussion based on the writings of Walter Isaacson in his book “The Greatest Sentence Ever Written” (2025). Isaacson’s “Common Ground” and the Greatest Sentence In his chapter “Common Ground,” Isaacson asserts that the Declaration’s self-evident truths “became the creed […]
United by Founding Principles: Restoring Common Ground
Walter Isaacson, in his book “The Greatest Sentence Ever Written” (The Greatest Sentence Ever Written (2025), Simon & Schuster), talks about how the self-evident truths (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) in the Declaration of Independence became the foundation of the American government. He writes, “These truths became the creed that bound a diverse […]
Understanding and Preserving Our Fundamental Rights
If someone were to ask you what your fundamental rights as an American are, how would you answer? Many people cite freedom of religion or the right to bear arms as their fundamental American rights. However, those rights are in the Constitution, specifically, the Bill of Rights ratified in 1791. Our country was born in […]
Parchment and Promise: American Founders’ Courage
Standing before the original Declaration at the National Archives, I felt the quiet gravity of the moment—56 pens poised to risk everything to birth a nation. It’s Summer, 1776. The signers of the Declaration of Independence gather for an overwhelming task. What kind of guts does it take to start a nation that puts The […]
Unalienable or Inalienable: Which Right Is Correct?
In this year of America’s 250th birthday, we continue our study of the Declaration of Independence. Do you say “inalienable” or “unalienable”? Origin of “unalienable” in the Declaration of Independence Walter Isaacson, in his book “The Greatest Sentence Ever Written” (The Greatest Sentence Ever Written (2025), Simon & Schuster), points out that the word “inalienable” […]
Did the Declaration Exclude Women and Minorities?
The Declaration of Independence uses the noun “Men” and not “Women.” Today’s cultural drift has encouraged us to take issue with the use of the word “Men” as it is not inclusive, they say. I would argue that, indeed, the word “Men,” as used in our founding documents, includes all humans today. Historical Meaning of […]
Self-Evident Truth in the Declaration
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 […]
Crafting America’s Defining Sentence, 1776
Look closely at the picture accompanying this article—history in the making. The painting is “Writing the Declaration of Independence, 1776” by J.L.G. Ferris. The Library of Congress describes the painting as “Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams meet at Jefferson’s lodgings, on the corner of Seventh and High (Market) streets in Philadelphia, to review […]
