16th Century Theological Debate Around Dec. of Independence

On July 4th this year, America will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.  The document is a snapshot of the philosophical values embodied in our government.  Moreover, if we are a creedal nation, as Justice Neil Gorsuch recently asserted, the Declaration is the prime candidate for our creed.  Abraham Lincoln claimed, “I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence.”  His Gettysburg address would frame the Civil War as a struggle to more fully embody its values.  So too would the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.