A Reason to Celebrate This Fourth of July: New at Reason

We celebrate the Fourth of July because that’s the day the Declaration of Independence was signed, 242 years ago, writes John Stossel. You might call July 4 America’s birthday.

The Declaration didn’t just declare our independence from Britain; it vowed to create a government that respected all people’s rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” It said nothing about patriotism. Or making America “great.”

America became great, Stossel observes, because the Declaration (and the Constitution that followed) set down rules that kept government small and out of the way. That let creative individuals flourish.

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