“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that there are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Thomas Jefferson composed this famous sentence 242 years ago in Philadelphia when he drafted the Declaration of Independence. The document was passed by the Second Continental Congress on July 2, 1776, but was actually ratified on July 4, 1776. With this bold move, the delegates assembled in Philadelphia declared that the 13 colonies would break away from Great Britain and forge their way as a new nation.
Independence was finally won when Lord Cornwallis of Great Britain surrendered to General George Washington in 1781 at Yorktown, Virginia. So while celebrating our nation’s independence this week, take time to reflect upon the powerful statement mentioned above which was penned by Jefferson so many years ago. Even today, it is still an important statement of American political principles.