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The Declaration of Independence: America’s Birth Certificate

Unpack the rich text and meanings of America’s beloved origin document, and relive the fascinating events surrounding its writing, its transmission to the world, and its influence across the globe.
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The Declaration of Independence: America’s Birth Certificate

Trailer

American Scripture

01: American Scripture

Begin this course on the Declaration of Independence with a look at the physical document itself, tracing its creation and signing. Follow the centuries-spanning travels of the document, to its current home, as it was moved numerous times for display and safekeeping. Reflect on the significance and meaning of the document, as a beloved embodiment of national identity and patriotism.

29 min
Colonial Tensions Boil Over

02: Colonial Tensions Boil Over

Track the events that led to the outbreak of revolution. In the wake of the Boston Tea Party, mark the Coercive Acts passed by Parliament, and the colonists' actions seeking reconciliation, which were ultimately rejected by the crown. Note the roles of Thomas Paine's ideological tract Common Sense and numerous local declarations demanding independence in bringing the crisis to a tipping point.

29 min
Let a Committee Be Appointed

03: Let a Committee Be Appointed

In June of 1776, colonists moved rapidly toward announcing their political separation from Britain. Follow their actions leading to the creation of a committee to draft a statement of intent, headed by Thomas Jefferson. With Jefferson designated the write the document, learn how he composed it over two weeks, incorporating suggestions from the committee before placing it before Congress.

26 min
These Truths

04: These Truths

Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence stands as a masterful piece of writing. Read the two opening paragraphs of the document and take apart the meanings of the finely-honed and densely packed sentences. Note how Jefferson conveys the American colonists' stance with elegance, precision, and rhetorical power, articulating the ultimatum to seek independence at any cost.

28 min
The Grievances

05: The Grievances

Here, delve into the most essential part of the Declaration--the grievances against the crown. Study the document's three categories of grievances: abuses of executive power, legislative power, and cruelty in human terms. Examine Jefferson's sources for the charges, and the ways in which he uses rhetoric, exaggeration, and hyperbole to justify rebellion as a moral necessity driven by principle.

28 min
July 2, 1776

06: July 2, 1776

Congress' movement toward independence came to a head in the days before July 2, 1776. As of early June, trace the events surrounding a three-week postponement of a vote on separation from Britain. Leading into July 2, follow the tense unfolding of the progress toward a final vote, with multiple speeches, delays, and maneuvers that in the end produced a majority vote for independence.

30 min
The Critics: Editing the Declaration

07: The Critics: Editing the Declaration

Following the vote to separate from Britain, Congress set about editing Jefferson's draft of the Declaration. From July 2-4, 1776, track the many revisions, as the delegates rewrote, deleted, tightened, and enhanced areas of the text, addressing a range of political and strategic concerns. Grasp how the delegates reshaped Jefferson's initial work into a universal statement of human liberty.

29 min
Word of Independence Spreads

08: Word of Independence Spreads

Learn how news of the Declaration was disseminated across the colonies, through printed broadsides of the document, newspapers, and numerous public readings, from statehouses and churches to the streets. Take account of the public response, encompassing celebrations, large and small, episodes of anti-British violence, and resistance on the part of loyalists to the crown, as the war escalated.

27 min
Britain Responds to the Declaration

09: Britain Responds to the Declaration

Uncover the routes by which British authorities became aware of the colonists' declaration. With the news reaching London, note the contrast between the government's choice to withhold public response and the clamoring of newspapers to publish the document. Mark the response of the British press, anti-colonist writings rebutting the declaration, and the king's ultimate, condemning proclamation.

28 min
Long Live King Louis

10: Long Live King Louis

In issuing the Declaration, examine the major motives of the delegates to secure foreign aid and alliances, considered essential to victory against the British. Track the actions of the patriots to publish the Declaration in Europe, and the long efforts of Silas Deane and Benjamin Franklin to forge an alliance with France, leading ultimately to official French recognition of the United States.

27 min
The Fate of the World

11: The Fate of the World

Take a broad look at how the Declaration of Independence has echoed in the larger world. In the 75 years after its creation, track the numerous peoples, from Europe to South America, who used the Declaration as a blueprint for their own proclamations of statehood. And consider its new global relevance following the world wars, as human rights and political independence became a global language.

28 min
The Once and Future Declaration

12: The Once and Future Declaration

In conclusion, trace the process by which the Declaration and its language have become a kind of American scripture. Witness how the document began to take on a sacred aura during the War of 1812, and its subsequent embrace by those seeking rights for women, African Americans, Native Americans, workers, and many others in our contemporary world, becoming a national credo for freedom and equality.

31 min

Overview Course No. 30810

The Declaration of Independence was a history-changing document, calling for a new form of government resting on a radical philosophical framework. It has inspired over 100 other declarations of independence over the last 250 years. In these 12 lectures, Professor Bell offers you far-reaching reflections on the meaning, the power, and the influence of the Declaration, as you engage with:

  • A Masterfully Crafted Text. Unpack the Declaration’s dense opening paragraphs line by line; and see how writer Thomas Jefferson justifies rebellion through blistering rhetoric and hyperbole.
  • A Historic and Agonizing Vote. Following the writing of the Declaration, trace the blow-by-blow unfolding of multiple speeches, arguments, delays, reverses, and maneuvers that culminated in the colonists’ vote for independence.
  • Revising the Text. Take a detailed look at the editing and revisions to the Declaration by members of Congress; study the delegates’ deletions, additions, and enhancing of the text as they formulated the final Declaration that the world would see.
  • The Declaration Travels Outward. Witness the publishing and spread of the Declaration throughout the colonies; learn about the response by the British press and crown; and the Americans’ efforts to secure a political alliance with France.
  • A Global Legacy. In its first 50 years, observe how the Declaration served as a blueprint for numerous declarations of independence across Latin America; and note the huge wave of similar declarations across the world following the world wars.
  • The Declaration and the American People. Assess the meaning that the Declaration of Independence has taken on for Americans. See how 19th to 21st century American thinkers and activists have invoked the words of the Declaration to promote comprehensive, global rights and freedoms for all peoples.

In 12 compelling lectures, The Declaration of Independence: America’s Birth Certificate takes you to the heart of our nation’s origins.

About

Richard Bell
Richard Bell

Since 1776, the American Declaration has come into its own, offering the world a model charter of freedom notable for its precocious conception of rights and its powerfully articulated connection between external sovereignty and independence.

INSTITUTION

University of Maryland

Richard Bell is Professor of History at the University of Maryland. He received his PhD in American History from Harvard University. He is the author of The American Revolution and the Fate of the World and Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home, which was a finalist for the George Washington Prize and the Harriet Tubman Prize. He has held major research fellowships at Yale University, the University of Cambridge, and the Library of Congress and has received the National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar Award and the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship.

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