It’s been 247 years since the most remarkable document in secular human history was crafted by Thomas Jefferson. His amazing Declaration of Independence contained not a single new idea invented by Jefferson, but rather represents a brilliant collection of the key ideas of the enlightenment era, all crafted as a “Dear King George” letter, one that George was ultimately not thrilled to receive. So, maybe it’s time to explore the “reason behind the season” of our Fourth of July Independence Day?

For all of human history prior to 1776, mankind had operated in a world that saw kings, pharaohs, czars and other potentates as chosen to rule by God. To oppose your monarch was to, well, oppose God. Not surprisingly, the rulers around the globe were quite happy with the notion they were divinely chosen and ruled with absolute power.

Then, in a fairly undeveloped but increasingly important set of colonies, some very radical notions started circulating. Ultimately, this upstart group would assert, through the Declaration, four profoundly radical concepts of governance. And in doing so, this small group of future states affirmed their willingness to take on the greatest military power the world had ever known – Great Britain for a truly radical reason: liberty.

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Recall, please, from your last civics class or perhaps from watching a PBS documentary or two, that Jefferson’s Declaration was, in its time, not seen as a grand statement of political theory, but rather a list of the reasons why the future United States felt compelled to separate from Britain. While the introduction and the last bits are the parts that get the most attention, the bulk of the Declaration is made up of a list of complaints. In a long list of objections, the Declaration mentions more than two dozen grievances against King George, including things like, “He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good,” and “He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.” It goes on to complain about cutting off our trade with our neighbors, about imposing taxes without our consent, and that “He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.”

I could go on, but you can read the whole document here.

In one amazing section, ultimately removed from the final draft at the insistence of several southern colonies, Jefferson wrote, “He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating & carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither…”. He goes on, but basically, and frankly surprisingly, Jefferson wrote an entire section of the Declaration on the evils of slavery, even as he himself owned more than 200 other human beings during his life. It is interesting to think about how American history might have been, had the Carolinas and Georgia not insisted upon its removal.

But for modern eyes, the most enduring and, frankly, important portion is up front, and begins with those most famous of all words in the Declaration, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. – That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, – That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Let’s look at what he said, shall we? Again, for all of human history up to that point, kings were thought to be picked by God. To oppose a king was to oppose God. But here Jefferson asserts that all men are created equal. Interestingly, he actually capitalized “men” not only here, but also in his deleted section when talking about slaves, so it is clear that Jefferson saw slaves as men, i.e., equals.

So, Jefferson is asserting that everyone is equal, and this is specifically insulting to old King George, that everyone was equal to him, a shocking notion for 1776. Next, Jefferson asserts his second radical idea, that we have fundamental rights (life, liberty, you know…) that we get from God, and not from the kindness of kings, as George was taught to believe. If you breathe, you have God-given rights, period.

The third radical idea was that governments are to be created to secure these divine rights, not to serve the king. Finally, the fourth radical notion is Jefferson’s assertion that when governments do not, in fact, support the first three ideas, it is the right – nay, the duty – of the people to alter or abolish them.

So, in a few hundred words, Jefferson basically declares that the entire structure of government since the first city states of ancient times were wrong, and that governments should be all about the people and their unalienable rights. Truly radical, far-left stuff for its time.

Now, sadly, you have the disadvantage of reading history from the point of view of the winners, in that you know it all worked out. But back in 1776, there was roughly 25% support for breaking with England. Most folks back then just wanted to be left alone. And so, the success of our revolution becomes all the more remarkable in hindsight, and, indeed, amazing.

John Adams would later write that a particular day in July “will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival… It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade with shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

Adams was, of course, talking about July 2nd, 1776, when the vote was actually held to ratify the Declaration. At the time, that date seemed most likely to be remembered, as that is when the notion of declaring American independence was approved. On the 4th, the final words had been placed on parchment and the delegates to the convention began signing. Sorry, John.

And so, nearly a quarter of a millennium under our belts as a nation, the Declaration still stands out as a timeless, brave, insightful, bold, and, frankly amazing product from the mind of Thomas Jefferson. Perhaps before you scoop up that big pile of potato salad, you might take a moment to read aloud his remarkable Declaration.

I promise, it is well worth your time.

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.