The Consolations of the Declaration

Detail from John Trumbull's 1818 painting of the Committee of Five presenting their draft of the Declaration of Independence to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. (L-R): John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin. Public Domain

Commentary

In this 250th year of American independence, as current events seem too often a headlong train of rancor and spite, and as screens large and small fill public areas with trying chatter and poor conduct, the Declaration itself has a more than historical and political value. The opening paragraphs of that brief document are an everlasting expression of principle and calm in a turbulent moment long ago—and today.