The Other Declaration of 1776

This Fourth of July, Americans rightly celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence - the document drafted in Philadelphia, then debated, amended, and approved in the Pennsylvania State House, the building posterity would know as Independence Hall.

We remember Jefferson’s timeless words, which still echo today. We remember the delegates pledging to one another their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor...

On July 2, 1776, Congress adopted Richard Henry Lee’s resolution declaring that the united colonies "are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States." Over the next two days, the delegates turned their attention to the document explaining that momentous decision... before formally adopting the Declaration of Independence on July 4...

Congress had declared what America was to be...

Washington declared what its survival would require...

The freedoms Americans celebrate 250 years later were once entrusted to this untested army awaiting an overwhelming enemy...

We rightly return each Independence Day to the parchment created in Philadelphia. It tells us why Americans were entitled to be free - because their Creator endowed them with the rights of a free people.