The Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution are the two documents that define this nation more than any other. One stated the causes that prompted the patriots to take up arms against Britain during the Revolutionary War, and the other outlined the carefully balanced government that continues to exist up to this day. It would be no exaggeration to say that the Declaration and the Constitution define what it means to be American. For me, these documents not only embody the core values and base assumptions of this nation but also heavily influence the language in which we speak about the matters of importance.
I understand fairly well that any personal perception of the Declaration or the Constitution, including mine, cannot be objective. As an American citizen, I know that the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration in 1776 to list the “long train of abuses and usurpations” of the British Crown that caused the Revolutionary War (“Declaration of Independence”). I also know that the Constitution was drafted by the Constitutional Convention in 1787 after the Articles of Confederation had proven woefully inadequate. Naturally, I am aware that the Constitution, as the country’s supreme law, relates to me directly. Yet discussing what either of them means for any contemporary American goes far beyond the analysis of the documents themselves, as the Constitution and the Declaration are the cornerstones of American national mythology. This is what makes it more difficult and yet more interesting to reflect on what they mean to me: the contemplation is not about two documents, but about two building blocks of American identity.
As for me, the most meaningful thing about the Declaration of Independence is its adherence to the principle of equality. The first words of its second paragraph are probably the most important ones in the entire document: “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal” (“Declaration of Independence”). The gendered language of this preamble will likely appear limiting and discriminatory to a contemporary observer. However, it does not detract from the fact that, when outlining their cause for the world to see, the patriots based it on the assumption of equality and unalienable rights. For me, the Declaration is the manifestation of this wholly American idea: people have rights that no one should be able to take away, and people are equally entitled to these rights.
Yet proclaiming a principle, however noble, is one thing, and implementing it is something else entirely. Throughout more than two centuries of its existence, the US Constitution has gradually approached the idea of equality outlined in the Declaration’s preamble. Step by step, it overcame racial barriers toward social and political rights in the 15th Amendment and gender barriers – in the 19th Amendment (“Constitution of the United States”). While the road to equality was by no means easy or straightforward, the Constitution codified the progression on this path. For me, the Constitution is, first and foremost, the necessary complement to the core values of the Declaration: the notions of equality and irrevocable rights. These ideas lie at the core of American identity as I understand and experience it – in no small degree due to these two documents.
There is still much more to the importance of the Declaration or the Constitution – apart from shaping American identity, they also influence how the people speak. Whenever a group seeks to make a case against the perceived violation of its rights, it is likely to mimic the Declaration’s language. The most notable example would be the Declaration of Sentiments signed by the women’s rights convention that took place at Seneca Falls in 1848. The first paragraph repeats that of the Declaration of Independence almost word by word, and the second starts with the premise that “all men and women are created equal” (“Declaration of Sentiments”). I think this is one of the greatest things about the Declaration of Independence: it is so central to American political culture that people inevitably use its wording when discussing important political matters.
The Constitution also influenced the way people talk in the US – and they invoke it much more often than the Declaration. When someone feels their rights and liberties are threatened, they will likely say that the threat is “unconstitutional.” The first ten amendments, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, indeed, outline many liberties, from the freedom of speech to the states’ rights (“Constitution of the United States”). Yet, for me, the habit of labeling perceived injustices as “unconstitutional” is more than merely a legal statement – rather, it is an important unstated assumption about the Constitution. While understanding that no law can be perfect, Americans – me included – still trust their Constitution to be fundamentally just and view it as a main line of defense against the violations of their freedoms.
As one can see, the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution mean many things for me. On the one hand, they are the cornerstone of American identity and the twofold representation of this nation’s core values: equality and protection of rights. On the other hand, they define the language the people speak – whether in political statements or in everyday discussions of perceived injustice.
References
“Constitution of the United States.”ConstitutionUS.com, Web.
“Declaration of Independence: A Transcription.”National Archives, 2020, Web.
“Declaration of Sentiments.”National Park Service. 2015, Web.