By Mitchell Vexler, July, 23, 2025

Violating the black letter of law is an attack and offence to America’s founding principles which were created as a result of The American Revolution of 1776. Nibbling away at, not teaching, or being willfully ignorant causes generations including this generation not to know of or understand The War of 1776, which was the American Revolutionary War, being fought between 1775 and 1783, during which the thirteen American colonies sought independence from British rule. The conflict began with rising tensions over taxation and governance, culminating in the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and ending with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which recognized the United States as a sovereign nation. 

The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of the United States of America address mankind’s most basic political questions. Resting on a firm moral foundation, the articulate the first principles of political organization. The serve the futurity of the Nation from it’s inception to today and into the future as those generations face the same basic questions, whatever their particular circumstances, whatever their state of material progress. The principles of the Founders, articulated in these two documents transcend both time and technology, and must never be diminished or ignored. 

Government officials must respect their oaths to uphold the Constitution and we the people must be vigilant in seeing that they do. It is up to us, individually and collectively, to teach each generation to preserve and protect these unalienable rights for us and for future generations.

The first tier of critical thought in the Declaration of Independence of 1776 affirmed that just government is grounded in the consent of the governed. Without questioning God’s authority, the American view broke with the then-prevalent notion that legitimate political authority derives from divine right. And without challenging the classical premise that citizens should govern and be governed in accordance with human nature, America’s founders rejected the classical idea that wisdom or moral virtue provides decisive title to rule.

America’s founders held that while human beings are not equal in all respects and not free in all ways, we are born equal in rights and therefore neither masters over nor subordinate to others. Each has equal right to govern himself or herself, but no one has the right to govern another. One crucial exercise of the right to govern oneself consists in consenting to the exercise of political authority. In practice, that means that each has an obligation to obey only those laws – the disagreeable as well as the agreeable – that issue from established constitutional processes to which he or she has consented. Consent can be given expressly, as in the formal ceremonies by which immigrants officially acquire citizenship, or tacitly, as in the manner of the native-born who acquire the obligation to obey the laws through living under them and enjoying their benefits.

The second tier of critical thought of 1776 recognized that government’s primary purpose is to secure natural or unalienable rights. America’s founders parted ways with the traditional view that government’s purpose was to perfect or save souls, but the parting was not driven by indifference or hostility to higher concerns. Rather, the founders proceeded from the conviction that care of the soul was the proper responsibility of individuals, families, and religious institutions.

Securing rights did not preclude government from assuming additional responsibilities, provided that they were consistent with the equal rights of all, to advance the common good.  The founders did not hold that a fundamental purpose of government is to provide directly for the people’s material needs or to ameliorate all unfortunate circumstances.  They instead understood the role of government as securing the conditions, including the economic conditions, that would allow Americans to be responsible – to employ their natural rights to provide for themselves, their families, and those under their care.

The third tier of critical thought in the Declaration of Independence maintained that religious liberty, the right of individuals to worship in accordance with conscience, was an essential right. Far from expressing or implying antipathy to religion, limiting government’s authority over religious belief and practice stemmed from a determination to protect faith. Prohibiting government from establishing religion or impairing its free exercise reflected the belief that true religion could not be dictated by civil law because it was grounded in conscience and choice. Another reason to restrict political control over religion was the distinct tendency of government officials to lack competence in interpreting scripture and managing religious teaching and observance.

From the founders’ perspective, moreover, the spirit of liberty and the spirit of religion were not political antagonists but rather political allies. In their view, since human beings are by nature free and equal and endowed with reason, only faith practiced in accordance with conscience could be pleasing to God. And because the numerous Christian denominations at the founding affirmed that every human being is precious in God’s eyes and that power must be divided between church and state, religion in America bolstered the nation’s natural rights principles.

These three critical thoughts of 1776 being grounding just government in citizens’ consent, focusing government on securing rights, and protecting religious liberty out of respect for faith must never be diminished in any capacity whatsoever. 

Here we are approaching 2026, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and the strife we face is a direct result of those who dare diminish by ignorance or intent for political gain, the most important nation founding documents ever known.  Study of the origins, integration into American constitutional government, and implications for today’s challenges should promptly be placed at the center of civic education in America. Study of the origins, integration into American constitutional government and implications for today’s challenges must be adhered to by the government officials who’s job it is to adhere to the rule of law, not ignore it for expediency.