How the Declaration of Independence Explains Political News in 2018: New at Reason

If you take a moment this July 4 to re-read the Declaration of Independence, it may help you make better sense of the latest headlines.

The founders of the United States of America didn’t just declare independence from Great Britain. They wrote a statement explaining their reasoning. Two-hundred-and-forty-two years later, we’re navigating some of the same issues.

It turns out, though, that the issues outlined in the Declaration of Independence—international trade, immigration, choosing judges, political connections with Europe, the threat of “tyranny”—have a way of preoccupying citizens and bedeviling politicians even when the executive is elected rather than crowned, writes Ira Stoll.

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