Allan Stevo on the tension between the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution

Fireworks or obeisance to the flag do not hit at the heart of what July 4 is. The spirit of 1776 is very different from the spirit of 1787. One was decentralizing and about individual autonomy. The other was centralizing and about governmental power.

The US Constitution (1787) is nearly the opposite of the Declaration of Independence(1776). As such, it is certainly not the Constitution that makes America great. That tension between the two is constantly at play in American society.

~ Allan Stevo, "On July 4th, I'll Be Celebrating Walter Block," LewRockewell.com, July 4, 2020

Declaration of Independence on the right of secession

To secure these rights  [of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness] Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed... 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.

~ Declaration of Independence, 1776

Declaration of Independence - July 4, 1776
1976

Thomas Jefferson on self-government

May [our Declaration of Independence] be to the world, what I believe it will be (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all), the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government... All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man.

~ Thomas Jefferson

Signing of Declaration
1869

Nathan Hale on independence from England

Liberty?  Independence?  Are they to remain only words?  Gentlemen, let us make them fighting words!

~ Nathan Hale

Nathan Hale
1922-1925

The Declaration of Independence on life under British rule

The king has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent Swarms of Officers to harass our People and eat out their substance.

~ Declaration of Independence

David Boaz on the signers of the Declaration of Independence

More than 200 years ago Thomas Jefferson and the other signers of the Declaration of Independence committed themselves to the cause of American liberty with these words: "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."

And they weren't kidding. Twelve signers had their homes ransacked and burned by the British. Nine more died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. None, however, lost their sacred honor.

~ David Boaz, executive VP, Cato Institute, "The Coming Century of Liberty," Fall 2007