What Does the Declaration of Independence Mean, 250 Years Later?

Lindsay Graham· Host0:00

[instrumental music] Today is the Fourth of July, and every American is aware, along with many others all across the globe, that two hundred fifty years ago, thirteen British colonies declared their independence from the Crown. But also on this day two hundred years ago, fifty years after the Declaration of Independence, two men took their last breaths: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. It's a remarkable coincidence that these two giants, one who pushed hard for independence from the beginning, the other who penned the words, "All men are created equal," died on the same day, coinciding with the semi-centennial of the document that made them both immortal. It's also remarkable that these two men, rivals from the start, they ran against each other in two presidential elections, became close friends, overcoming differences and forgiving disagreements. And in their correspondence as the years passed and the original Spirit of '76 faded, they wrote of what will be remembered of the Revolution. Adams: "As to the history of the Revolution, what do we mean by the Revolution? The war? That was no part of the Revolution. It was only an effect and consequence of it. The Revolution was in the minds of the people, and this was effected from 1760 to 1775, in the course of fifteen years before a drop of blood was drawn at Lexington."