Galen Farrington

“… it was the epoch of belief…”

Charles Dickens

It is often stated that the highest standard that delineates the greatest literature is its lasting human value and we all remember the words beginning the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence: “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.” And the Great Experiment had been delineated on paper as the moral foundation of the Constitution.

Due to systemic limitations on women’s rights and opportunities, Abigail Adams wrote in a letter to her husband, John Adams, dated March 31, 1776, in which she advocates for women: “… I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.” She would become disappointed with the Declaration’s final wording.

Thomas Jefferson’s final document as presented July 2, 1776, to the Continental Congress declared United States independence. It was reviewed, and except for the major revision eliminating the slavery grievance against King George III, was accepted; the Congress wanted no mention of slavery due to the document’s position on human rights.

Ralph Trembly’s famous lithograph (1817) placing most of the 56 signers in one location to ratify the Declaration of Independence pictures a fictitious event as the delegates arrived in Washington on horseback during the five months after the actual Aug. 2 signing. The final signature was that of Thomas McKean (Delaware) in January 1777. Now the Declaration was complete with all signatories, and a second printing was commissioned by the United States government with Mary Katharine Goddard accepting the contract. As a result, her name is the only female signature to appear alongside those of the Founding Fathers.

Although not the first to sign the new Declaration, John Stockton was the first of five delegates from New Jersey to put pen to paper. But Mr. Stockton was also the only signer to sign an affidavit to promise not to meddle in the American affairs during the Revolution and align with British interests as a condition for his release from a New York prison (he was a prisoner of war). His five harsh weeks spent in prison resulted in a two-year health recovery.

John Dunlap printed approximately 200 original Declarations that were read to the colonialists. Twenty-six remain today with the most recent discovery as the result of a $4 purchase at a flea market. In 1989 a flea market patron purchased a framed picture. Upon arriving home, he cut out the picture and found an old document that was an original Declaration of Independence. He later sold it at auction for just over $8.1 million.

The Declaration of Independence became the inspirational model document outlining civil rights in America. When Abigail Adams asked her husband to “… Remember the Ladies …” it may be construed that women’s suffrage was born. When a free, nine-year-old Black boy heard the reading of the Declaration for the first time in front of the Philadelphia statehouse, James Forten decided to devote his life to “… uplifting his fellow Black Americans ….” His lifelong goal was to seek equality for all, regardless of color. It may be argued that Forten was this country’s first civil rights activist.

This Independence Day take time to read the first two paragraphs (there are five sections of the Declaration: preamble, statement of human rights, list of grievances, denunciation of the British and conclusion) of the Declaration and decide for yourself if Government is living up to the Founding Fathers’ lofty goal of “… deriving (its) just powers from the consent of the governed …”

There is no doubt that the Declaration of Independence is one of America’s great pieces of literature due to its lasting human value that makes this country the greatest of all the over 200 countries of the world.

May God continue to bless America.

Galen Farrington is a resident of Alto, NM and contributor to the Ruidoso News. He can be reached at gcf88345@gmail.com