{"id":2700154,"date":"2026-11-06T09:31:54","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T14:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignrediscovering-the-declaration-and-americas-founding-principles\/"},"modified":"2026-11-06T09:41:56","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T14:41:56","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignrediscovering-the-declaration-and-americas-founding-principles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignrediscovering-the-declaration-and-americas-founding-principles\/","title":{"rendered":"Rediscovering The Declaration And America\u2019s Founding Principles"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignrediscovering-the-declaration-and-americas-founding-principles%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2700154&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Matthew Spalding\u2019s The Making of the American Mind is a lucid, deeply researched tribute to the Declaration of Independence. Drawing on his Hillsdale and 1776 Commission experience, Spalding traces the Declaration\u2019s classical, english, Enlightenment, and Christian roots and analyzes it section by section. He clarifies phrases like \u201clife, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness\u201d and \u201ccreated equal,\u201d explains the grievances that justify separation, and highlights the duties behind pledging \u201cLives, Fortunes, and sacred Honor.\u201d The epilogue \u201cIron Men\u201d recounts the signers\u2019 sacrifices. Reviewer Krystina Skurk calls the book inspiring and potentially definitive.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>No work is more fitting for the 250th anniversary of America than Matthew Spalding\u2019s <em>The Making of the American Mind: The Story and Meaning of the Declaration of Independence<\/em>. As Spalding notes, the 250th anniversary offers an opportunity to relearn American history and rediscover self-evident truths.<\/p>\n<p>I should note upfront that I worked for Dr. Spalding as a research assistant, and I expected this book to be good. It far exceeded my expectations. And nothing could have prepared me for the emotional climax of the epilogue, \u201cIron Men.\u201d After turning the last page, I sat stunned, grateful, and full of wonder at what our Founders accomplished and sacrificed.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, the book serves as a guide to American first principles as laid out in the Declaration of Independence and the duties required to maintain them in a constitutional republic.<\/p>\n<p>This is not Spalding\u2019s first book on the Declaration. His <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/s?k=we+still+hold+these+truths+by+matthew+spalding&#038;language=English&#038;adgrpid=1330411668309728&#038;gb=2&#038;hvadid=83151023029052&#038;hvbmt=be&#038;hvdev=c&#038;hvexpln=0&#038;hvlocphy=90406&#038;hvnetw=o&#038;hvocijid=15780840593655194969--&#038;hvqmt=e&#038;hvtargid=kwd-83152011032544%3Aloc-190&#038;hydadcr=22628_13494510_9955&#038;mcid=40cba31f8ccb302f81709ba08718d320&#038;tag=mh0b-20&#038;ref=pd_sl_1vuwmq7kib_e\"><\/a><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/s?k=we+still+hold+these+truths+by+matthew+spalding&#038;language=English&#038;adgrpid=1330411668309728&#038;gb=2&#038;hvadid=83151023029052&#038;hvbmt=be&#038;hvdev=c&#038;hvexpln=0&#038;hvlocphy=90406&#038;hvnetw=o&#038;hvocijid=15780840593655194969--&#038;hvqmt=e&#038;hvtargid=kwd-83152011032544%3Aloc-190&#038;hydadcr=22628_13494510_9955&#038;mcid=40cba31f8ccb302f81709ba08718d320&#038;tag=mh0b-20&#038;ref=pd_sl_1vuwmq7kib_e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">We Still Hold These Truths<\/a><\/em>  is its own great work on America\u2019s core Founding Principles. Spalding was also Executive Editor of the second edition of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Heritage-Guide-Constitution-Revised-Second\/dp\/1621572684\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=DKEI2EVMSSDK&#038;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.opqqTz9raayo2DcY8SiJ1J3BxpOOT0B2mIPy-RfRsQs_Y9PPQunVdz-PK9ydnLXZpFTp-BORjUoqt7-xAlDlBGgDkH55Tuyzta6_xRWompK2kLPmAdkSCKbykldxn6MVtzfcdTVaRfzXiHJs63JSILehfGCY4qgf_NejUb1TF07Oygq6kb8b7xIBO26B45H4vJLs7nm9N0LzEWmislyI7RiT0X0zBsB8pZlqNm3B3w8.MpCfED_xLb65KS4i5t5bbxEXjRkWkQdywPmmu9DF8fg&#038;dib_tag=se&#038;keywords=Heritage+Guide+to+the+Constitution+second+edition&#038;qid=1793548817&#038;sprefix=heritage+guide+to+the+constitution+second+edition%2Caps%2C79&#038;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Heritage Guide to the Constitution<\/em><\/a>; built a graduate program at Hillsdale College\u2019s D.C. campus focused on American citizenship and republican self-government; and served as Executive Director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/The-Presidents-Advisory-1776-Commission-Final-Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1776 Commission<\/a> under the first Trump administration.<\/p>\n<p>There are few more qualified to write a book worthy of America\u2019s 250th anniversary. Spalding\u2019s new work builds on his previous publications, bringing together his years of scholarship, experience as an educator, and work as a public intellectual in an easy-to-read, engaging, and deeply researched account of America\u2019s Founding document.<\/p>\n<p>The book offers a thorough historical account of the events that set the stage for the fight for independence. It also traces the intellectual history that shaped the Founding and the Declaration in particular. But it\u2019s much more than that. Spalding\u2019s <em>Making of the American Mind<\/em> is a love letter to the Declaration of Independence. Every page increases the reader\u2019s appreciation of our Founders, their actions, the words of the Declaration, and divine providence.<\/p>\n<p>First, Spalding sets the scene for 1776, explaining how the American mind developed over decades and how those sentiments found expression in the Declaration. He compares the document to a symphony with distinct movements, sounds, and rhythms combined into a harmonious whole.<\/p>\n<p>Spalding emphasizes the natural rights of the Founding, noting its philosophical influences, including Greek and Roman philosophers, the Founders\u2019 English heritage and jurisprudence, Enlightenment thinkers, and Christianity. He further makes it clear that these traditions are built upon one another and are connected.<\/p>\n<p>The most impressive aspect of Spalding\u2019s book is that, in the tradition of Biblical exegesis, he goes through most of the Declaration section by section. Beginning with the Declaration\u2019s opening paragraph, he focuses on the phrase \u201cThe Laws of Nature and of Nature\u2019s God,\u201d noting that its emphasis on judgment and reflection foreshadows Hamilton\u2019s famous question in Federalist One: Are \u201csocieties of men really capable\u2026 of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/redefining-conservatism-to-remake-america\/\" title=\"Redefining Conservatism To Remake America\">establishing good government<\/a> from reflection and choice,\u201d or are they \u201cdestined to depend\u2026 on accident and force?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Spalding\u2019s next chapter focuses on the most famous section of the Declaration, exploring the meaning of phrases like \u201cWe hold these truths,\u201d \u201call men are created equal,\u201d \u201cendowed by their creator,\u201d \u201clife, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,\u201d and more.<\/p>\n<p>Inspired by Abraham Lincoln, Spalding notes that the Declaration\u2019s statement of principles transformed an immediate struggle for independence into a \u201cuniversal statement of human freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When parsing the phrase \u201clife, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,\u201d Spalding explains that life, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/president-trump-issues-executive-order-for-january-22-two-days-after-bidens-planned-inauguration-proclaiming-the-sanctity-of-life\/\" title=\"President Trump Issues Executive Order for January 22, Two Days After Biden\u2019s Planned Inauguration, Proclaiming the Sanctity of Life\">human existence<\/a>, is the prerequisite for exercising other rights, and liberty means the freedom to exercise choice. The Founders\u2019 understanding of liberty requires self-control and respect for law and others\u2019 rights. This distinction separates liberty from license.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, Spalding explains that the pursuit of happiness means something deeper than modern readers of the Declaration might think. The classical understanding of happiness doesn\u2019t revolve around satisfying desires or appetites. The Founders knew you can\u2019t always get what you want. They believed true happiness meant human flourishing, which can occur only by cultivating the virtues necessary for a free government.<\/p>\n<p>Spalding also explains that \u201ccreated equal\u201d doesn\u2019t mean everyone has equal abilities, but that everyone has equal human dignity and thus no man is the natural ruler over another without consent. He also addresses the contradiction of slavery, explaining that many of the Founders, even its author, Thomas Jefferson, recognized that the principles in the Declaration repudiated the justice of slavery and expected the eventual end of the evil institution.<\/p>\n<p>Spalding fleshes out the historical context, including Great Britain\u2019s transition from \u201csalutary neglect\u201d of the colonies to gradual repression at Parliament\u2019s behest, whose authority the colonists rejected. This section introduces the \u201clong train of abuses,\u201d which, as Spalding points out, is not listed chronologically but is designed to establish an accumulating pattern of tyranny, concluding that the king has lost the moral authority to govern the American people. <\/p>\n<p>Spalding argues that the Declaration\u2019s ingenious structure leads the reader to inevitably conclude that separation from Great Britain and the establishment of a new government are necessary.<\/p>\n<p>Taking their cue from the list of grievances and the Declaration as a whole, the founders established a Republic of defined and separated powers. The Founders hoped this government could secure the Declaration\u2019s ends.<\/p>\n<p>Before concluding the book, Spalding discusses one more important phrase: \u201c\u2026we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.\u201d Spalding observes the final triad parallels the more quoted triumvirate of \u201clife, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.\u201d While the first statement names universal rights that the government should secure, the closing names the duties and sacrifices necessary to uphold them.<\/p>\n<p>Spalding\u2019s epilogue, \u201cIron Men,\u201d explains that the signers knew the reality of what their fates could be. For example, Washington wrote in a May 1776 letter to his brother that he understood defeat could mean confiscation, execution, and, as he put it, \u201cetc., etc.\u201d The \u201cetc.\u201d in Washington\u2019s letter entailed the brutal penalties associated with treason, including disembowelment while still alive, beheading, and quartering.<\/p>\n<p>And for many of the signers, this pledge was not theoretical. Loyalists turned signer Richard Stockton over to the British in 1776. He was tortured for having signed the Declaration. When he was released, he found his home and his property in ruins. He never recovered from his torture and imprisonment and died in 1781. Another signer described in a letter being \u201chunted like a fox by the enemy\u2026\u201d British ire wasn\u2019t directed only at the signers, but at their families, too. Both of Abraham Clark\u2019s sons served in the army. When the British captured them, they were beaten and starved because their father refused to recant his signing of the Declaration.<\/p>\n<p>The Signers also meant it when they pledged their fortunes. Signer Carter Braxton loaned what would be the equivalent of $2 million to the cause, and Robert Morris largely financed the Revolutionary War but ended up in debtors\u2019 prison because of bad speculations.<\/p>\n<p>Spalding ends this section with the lives of public service the 56 signers lived after the Revolution: 15 participated in state Constitutional Conventions, 13 became governors, 16 became state or federal judges, 13 served in the U.S. Congress, and two became Justices of the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p>Spalding points out that unlike pledging one\u2019s life and fortune, pledging one\u2019s honor does not give it away or diminish it. Of these men, Spalding concludes, \u201cThe signers all risked their lives, and many gave up their fortunes to support the Declaration. None forfeited his sacred honor. They were iron men.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It would not be surprising if years down the road scholars deemed this book the definitive work on the Declaration of our generation. This book captures the significance of not only the Declaration itself, but the American Experiment. Having devoted his life\u2019s work to educating the next generation of prudent statesmen, Spalding has created a commendable guide to America\u2019s founding principles. In today\u2019s tumultuous political environment, few other works have inspired me so deeply to continue fighting to keep our republic.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Krystina Skurk previously served as a speechwriter for the House Education and Workforce Committee under Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, as communications director for the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, and as a research assistant at Hillsdale College. Her writing has appeared in The Federalist, American Greatness, and The Center Square. She holds a master\u2019s degree in politics from Hillsdale College\u2019s Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship and is a graduate of Regent University. She is also a former John Jay Institute fellow, and has taught at Archway Cicero, a Great Hearts charter school.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>America&#8217;s 250th tribute: Spalding on the Declaration<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3909,"featured_media":2700155,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Book-Cover-Featured-Image-6.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[74922,25771,14994,87549],"class_list":["post-2700154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-american-history-2","tag-civics","tag-declaration","tag-founding-principles-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Book-Cover-Featured-Image-6.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2700154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3909"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2700154"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2700154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2700158,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2700154\/revisions\/2700158"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2700155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2700154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2700154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2700154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}