The Founding Fathers: Why their radical beliefs continue to shape America

Yes, they were flawed; many of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence – indeed the man who wrote it – were themselves slaveholders. Yes, also: what they did in the summer of 1776 changed the world.

"Lots of times people just want to say, 'Nah, we'll just write off the Declaration of Independence because of Thomas Jefferson's hypocrisy,'" said Harvard professor Danielle Allen, one of the world's foremost experts on the Declaration of Independence. "We can't write it off. We shouldn't write it off. It is our inheritance."

Asked the best way to honor America's 250th birthday, Allen replied, "Take the time to read the Declaration of Independence out loud. It's only 1,337 words, yet it's one of the most important philosophical statements about what a good government is, what the people deserve, what we are as human beings."

By the summer of 1776, the Revolutionary War was in full swing. Delegates from the 13 colonies, meeting in Philadelphia, authorized the drafting of a Declaration of Independence. The drafting committee included Benjamin Franklin, a self-made printer and inventor, and Massachusetts lawyer John Adams. But it was the new kid, 33-year-old Thomas Jefferson, who hammered out the first draft, including the phrase, "All men are created equal."

But did he really mean everyone? Allen says yes, considering what didn't make the final draft: "They included a paragraph critiquing George III for the slave trade. And they described that as a violation of the sacred rights of life and liberty of a distant people in Africa. In other words, they apply the same concept of sacred rights to Africans as they did to themselves."

But the passage had to be removed. "In the period of 1776, just as later with the Constitution, they needed to compromise," said Allen. "And one contested issue was already slavery."

Fifty-six men signed the Declaration – a death sentence if the revolution were unsuccessful.

As a group, says University of Florida professor Allen Guelzo, the Founders represent the most gifted group of leaders who ever lived in one generation in one place. Asked what they bestowed upon us, Guelzo said, "They gave us a recognition of certain basic facts, that within human nature, there is an instinctive yearning and desire for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Those things are there in nature, and the purpose of government is to foster them; the purpose of government is not to rule over the people. That is an enormous gift in the history of human ideas."

Guelzo was asked who makes the grade as a "Founding Father." "I don't know that I've ever consciously sat down and made up an official list," he said. "There are some people whom you can point to and say, all right, they are really indispensable, somebody like Washington. Take George Washington off the table and I don't really think you have a successful revolution. He's vital."

And the Founders were not limited to men. "I think almost everybody includes someone like Abigail Adams," said Guelzo, "because she was the wife of John Adams, and she was constantly peppering him with advice. And she expected it to be taken."

He also includes Black Americans among the Founders. "They include the soldiers, the rank and file of the Rhode Island Regiment that paraded here through the streets of Philadelphia en route to Yorktown."

Guelzo was a student tour guide in Philadelphia during the Bicentennial. Since that time, he's seen a stark change in how the nation's founding, and the Founders themselves, are remembered. "I think part of it is because we have come through, and are still involved in, some very difficult and contentious times," he said. "We're not on the other side of these contentions yet."

Danielle Allen says this year, our 250th, we should celebrate America (and yes, its Founding Fathers) not for its perfection, but for its promise. "I am proud of our country," she said. "This country put on the world stage this proposition that people can govern themselves at the scale of a nation. Didn't exist, that idea … it's a huge deal, and we should be proud of that. Again, pride doesn't mean you can't be clear-eyed about shortcomings. But we should be proud of what we've made possible for human beings – the birth of freedom, the pursuit of equality among us."

     
For more info:

• Danielle Allen, director, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University
• "Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality" by Danielle S. Allen (Liveright), in Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
• Allen C. Guelzo, professor of humanities, University of Florida
• Audio: "The Great Courses: America's Founding Fathers" by Allen C. Guelzo (The Great Courses)
• Thanks to Carpenters Hall, Philadelphia

     
Story produced by Mark Hudspeth. Editor: George Pozderec.

Join CBS for "The Great American Block Party 250," a primetime special on Saturday, July 4, hosted by CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil and Entertainment Tonight's Nischelle Turner, featuring live musical performances, celebrations around the country, and the largest fireworks show in history in the skies over the nation's capital. Tune in July 4 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and stream it on Paramount+ and CBS News 24/7.

See also:

• Ken Burns on America's origin story: "The most important event since the birth of Christ" ("Sunday Morning")
• The birth of the American Revolution ("Sunday Morning")
• Inside the Museum of the American Revolution ("Sunday Morning")
• How Washington's crossing of the Delaware presaged a changing world ("Sunday Morning")
• David McCullough on founding father John Adams ("Sunday Morning")
• What Colonial Williamsburg may teach us about politics today ("Sunday Morning")
• Jefferson's irony: Voice of liberty, slave owner ("Sunday Morning")