Tucson Citizen.com
Carolyn's Community - Our sense of group togetherness and "community" in Tucson

Declaring our independence

by on Feb. 21, 2010, under Life, Politics

“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.”

Famous words, seen in actuality today on a rare 1776 broadside copy of the Declaration of Independence…a moving moment for those of us at the Opening Ceremony at the Arizona Historical Society (AHS), 949 E. 2nd St. These words are quoted often in civil rights cases and in discussion of issues as to how we Americans choose to pursue our goals of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Read the entire text here.

But it is also a reminder of what tremendous effort (and war) it took to sever ourselves as 13 Colonies from Great Britain, in such a strong declaration of freedom and independence. As our founding fathers said– “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” And that is what they eloquently did in this Declaration at the 2nd Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

These lofty and enduring words have been the foundation of our United States of America since July 4, 1776, over 233 years ago. And these words will stand as the fiber of our Nation into the 21st Century and beyond.

You can still view this copy which I first wrote about on Feb. 18 (click here) at the AHS– museum hours are till 8 p.m. tonight, and tomorrow Feb. 22, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. This will be your only chance to see this 2 day traveling exhibit in Tucson. Admission is free.

Notables at today’s opening ceremony: U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, former Governor Raul Castro, Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup, Oro Valley Mayor Paul Loomis, Pima County Supervisors Richard Elias and Ray Carroll, State House representatives Steve Farley and Daniel Patterson, former State House rep. Pete Herschberger.

Congresswoman Giffords was instrumental in bringing this historic document to Tucson, and provided the welcoming & closing remarks, as well as “An Historical Perspective”. She also related what occurred later to the 56 brave men who signed the document in July, 1776.

Particularly moving was the video by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (of Arizona) who reminded us that we are a government by the “consent of the governed”, and that this document is a “legacy of our democracy”, and a “priceless treasure of freedom.” This video will be shown throughout the 2 day exhibit.

Note: I’ve seen the signed “original copy” of this Declaration of Independence at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and have lived in Charlottesville,Virginia, home of 3rd President Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of this Declaration. If you’re ever in that part of the Commonwealth of Virginia, I encourage you to visit Monticello, President Jefferson’s lovely estate to learn more about that particular founding father.

More in Tucson Life and Heritage:

A brighter future is coming

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 21st, 2010 at 10:31 am and is filed under Life, Politics. Tags for this post: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

RSS feed for this post (comments)
  • tiponeill

    I’m not a big fan of considering it “founding document”. It was a piece of propaganda, and a good one, whose audience was foreign countries and whose purpose was to justify and gain support for our rebellion against Great Britain.
    It’s importance, historically, is that it is a “declaration of war”, but it isn’t an actual founding document in the sense that the Constitution or Bill of Rights are.
    Unfortunately it has come to be used as propaganda internally by some groups as evidence that their religious intolerance was a “founding value” of the country. I’m sure the dingbat who want to erect 10 commandment monuments can quote selectively from it.
    I’m not so sure about the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

    • http://www.PortablePublishing.com Daniel Kingery

      For any person to claims that the Declaration is not in fact the Founding Charter that created the United States, simply has not read the document through to the end. The term “founding” pretty much sums it up.

      As for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?

      They are not the Founding Charter that created the United States, they are the documents that abolished our former government under the Articles of Confederation; they are the documents that the People of the United States have to use to control our governments.

      When our governments no longer allow the People to control them, it is the Founding Charter of the Declaration that guides the people not only of their rights but also their duty to alter or to abolish those governments and to institute new government. Much like our Founders did when they abolished the Articles of Confederation for the Constitution.

      The Bill of Rights, and I hesitate, is not so much a bill (list) of our rights as it is further restrictions on government powers regarding the specific rights listed. As for the rights not listed, our government has no power or authority in these rights.

      Respectfully,

      Daniel Kingery

      For more information go to http://www.PortablePublishing.com

  • leftfield

    Yes, it is an important historical document and it deserves thoughtful consideration.   My family and I will be standing in line to see it today.  On the way home, I plan to have a discussion with my daughter about the historical context of the Declaration.  I will ask her whether the founding fathers recognized the Native Americans and the African slaves were included as “men created equal”; about women’s rights at the time and similar issues.  I hope this way it can have impact for her as something beyond a chance to salute the flag.   

    • leftfield

      Please excuse the grammar.

    • radmax

      Make sure to get a picture, it’s about the only remaining fragment of what was envisioned for this country. I have no doubt that the rebels in penning this document, only had white men included in their thoughts at the time…you have to put yourself in their mindset of the period. It was a small step in the course of recorded history, but a very brave new way of looking at the human condition at the time.
      BTW-I still look at the founding fathers as visionarys in the all too dark human experience, must have been divine providence to put so many forward-looking individuals together at the same place and time. ;)

    • http://www.PortablePublishing.com Daniel Kingery

      To neglect or refuse to recognize the Declaration as the Founding Charter that created the United States is a grave error that got us to the mess we now experience politically.

      Unfortunately, in order to get the 1787 Constitution passed they had to take into account their prior history of taking lands and using slaves. Fortunately, the Constitution when originally written provided for the gradual abolition of slavery.

  • Carolyn Classen

    Many people at today’s exhibit did mention to me that times had changed since July, 1776 regarding treatment of women (not included as signers of the Declaration), Native Americans, Black slaves, etc.   This document will give families a chance to reflect upon what freedom means now, and also what it means to be a democracy for 233 plus years.  Thanks for your comments.

  • http://www.PortablePublishing.com Daniel Kingery

     
    Willcox, AZ resident promotes a new Constitution for the United States.
     
    Fortunately, the need for events like this are rare. When political situations make it necessary to take corrective action, we must work as a united force.
     
    To review and discuss the content of the proposed Constitution at no cost, go to http://www.PortablePublishing.com.
     
    Use the contact information on the website, if you and your friends would like to participate in a group forum for the purpose of improving on the text of the proposed new Constitution for the United States.
     
    All sides to the argument are welcome and necessary to improve our union of States.
     
    If you seek Constitutional legality as to such forums, I refer you to the present (1787) Constitution:
     
    Amendment 1; The right of the people to petition government for redress of grievances.
     
    Amendment 9, “The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” Refer to the Declaration of Independence for several of those rights. And,
     
    Amendment 10, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
     
     
    Some of those other rights and duties that the People retain, of which are listed in the Declaration 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 become destructive to 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.”
     
    Because it tends to be human nature to tolerate government abuses and usurpations for a while, our Founders continue, “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.”
     
    I am starting in Willcox, Cochise County, AZ because that is where I presently live. Nation-wide, there are over 3,000 news outlets that will receive this same letter.
     
    As for what happens to me if no one else in the United States of America are interested in continuing the work our Founders began 234 years ago, I intend to entertain offers from other lands.
     
    You see, I enjoy and respect the principles upon which the United States was Founded in 1776. Those principles are outlined in the United States Founding Charter; which is the document that most of you call your Declaration of Independence. What prompts me to and forces me on is those principles.
     
    For me, the toughest part was to see the three distinct parts of the United States.
     
    The first part is the land. The land of the United States is so diverse with wet-lands to desert, mountains to plains, forested to grass-lands. The land provides wild, ranched, and famed fish, game, and produce of all sorts common to most parts of the world.
     
    The second aspect is the people. Like the land, our people come from all parts of the world; an aspect I find interesting, as it is much like traveling to other lands without having to learn all their languages. I am able to experience foods, cultures, attitudes from those lands without ever leaving the United States.
     
    The third is our government. More correctly, our governments. Every city and town has some slightly different form of its own government. Even the counties within the same state differ in their political formations to some degree. Each of the states have their own Constitutions, which may or may not be for the best; yet they all (the original 13 states) agreed to and united under the rules of the United States Founding Charter of 1776; you more commonly refer to it as The Declaration of Independence.
     
    It is that third part, the government, to which I am no longer able to tolerate with offering my 2¢’s.
     
    Offer, is all that I am entitled to do in the USA, for as it seems I am the only person I know of so far who feels any need what-so-ever to change our form of government; then according to my own rules, I’m the odd man out. I either have to accept the problems I see in my government, try to repair those faults, or find another government under which I am able to live.

    I do not find myself accepting the present path of our governments — that of taking over more and more control over the private lives of the people — so I am left with only that of offering and helping to repair and improve our governments. At the time I consider my efforts as futile or simply not desired by the majority of other citizens, I am left only with the other option. Find another land and other people amongst whom to live, with a government to which I find more in line with the United States Founding Charter.
     
     
    Respectfully,
     
    Daniel Kingery
     
    P.O. Box 328
    Willcox, AZ
     
    520-507-1863
     
     
     

  • james donovan

    Thanks Carolyn for covering this race.  I am a hardcore Democrat yet I am very interested in what Giffords will face in the General.

«
»