1.6 – The Price of Freedom

Begin this Lesson by watching the following Chasing American Legends episode that will take you to Philadelphia and Independence Hall to bring to life the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

As they stated in the Declaration, the Founders were literally “declaring the causes that impel them to the separation” with Great Britain when they signed the Declaration of Independence, answering the question, “why” they were creating a new nation of states. They did, however, acknowledge caution against overthrowing an existing government for “light and transient causes.” They include in the Declaration a list of twenty-seven specific “abuses, injuries and usurpations” charged against the King of England and his government. When taken together, these presented a “history of absolute Tyranny and Despotism.” These were not “light and transient causes” and therefore justified the “throwing off” of British rule and “providing new Guards for their future security.”

The Declaration specifically appeals to God and then “declares” “That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown,…” [capitalization in the original] This choice of words is very important. “Independent States” and “they” support the belief that they were still thirteen independent sovereign states coming together for limited purposes. The states had not yet considered, much less embraced the idea of federalism, where the states would in the future create a more centralized, yet still limited federal government.

The final paragraph of the Declaration contains a restatement of both the Mecklenburg Resolutions and Richard Henry Lee’s resolution, both discussed earlier. By pledging “our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor,” the members of the Congress were recognizing the high cost of failure should the War for Independence not succeed. The term “Freedom isn’t free” has often been used throughout past generations. This still rings true today in the cost of defending our nation, and it also rang true for the signers of the Declaration. Many of them did not live to enjoy the freedom they secured for us. Many lost their fortunes, their homes, their families, and even their own lives. Freedom has never been and still is not free!¹

Though the words of the Declaration begin with declaring the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the closing words are the ones that truly attest to the living hope of the fifty-six men who signed the Declaration. They boldly stated, “with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” This was not some light sentiment added as a postscript, but a firm declaration of the confidence in their cause and the object of their faith.

Declaring independence is one thing. Achieving it is another. Military victory was years away,² and the peace treaty in Paris still two years beyond that.³ During those arduous years, there were many times when the outcome of the war was in serious doubt, but the leaders and the people stayed the course and finished strong to bring about victory.

1. For more information on the sacrifices made by the Declaration Signers, see: Benson Lossing, Biographical Sketches of the Signers of American Indpendece (New York: George F. Cooledge & Brother, 1848) (at: https://books.google.com/books?id=dtEDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=false); Dictionary of American Biography, Allen Johnson, editor (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1928-1937), 32 vols.; John Sanderson, Biographies of the Signers of the Declaration of Indpendence (Philadelphia: R.W. Pomeroy, 1823-1827), 9 vols. (at: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000202800); Appleton’s Cyclopedia of American Biography, James Grant Wilson and John Fiske, editors (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1888-1889), 6 vols. (at: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009905160).
2. See, for example, “Timeline of Events,” National Park Service (at: https://www.nps.gov/revwar/about_the_revolution/timeline_of_events_06_10.html).
3. See, for example, “Treaty of Paris,” ourd ocuments.gov (at: https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=6).