As the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this place invites comparison. The Declaration is not merely a founding document; it is a measuring stick. It lists concrete grievances, specific abuses of power, that convinced ordinary colonists that liberty was slipping away. Those grievances deserve careful, restrained comparison with modern governance, not as rhetoric, but as civic examination.
Grievances Then: What the Colonists Feared
The Declaration cataloged patterns of conduct by the British Crown that, taken together, amounted to tyranny. Among the most consequential concerns were these:
Unfair and coercive taxation.
Colonists objected not simply to taxes, but to taxes imposed without meaningful consent, financial burdens enforced by distant authority, insulated from accountability.
Meaningless political representation.
Representation existed in name only. Colonial assemblies could be dissolved, ignored, or overridden. Participation without influence proved hollow.
The forced quartering of soldiers.
British troops were embedded among civilians, backed by legal protections that favored the military over the populace. This blurred the line between civil life and state force.
Arrest, detention, and removal without local justice.
Colonists accused of crimes could be transported across the Atlantic to face trial in Great Britain, far from juries of peers, local evidence, or public scrutiny.
These were not abstract complaints. They were practical fears about unchecked power: force without accountability, punishment without due process, and authority increasingly removed from the people it governed.
The Measuring Stick: Parallels Worth Examining
Using the Declaration as a measuring stick does not require claiming equivalence between 1776 and today. It requires asking whether similar patterns of power are emerging, and whether safeguards are holding.
Use of Force Without Clear Accountability
In modern America, concerns have grown, across ideological lines, about extra-judicial use of
force by federal agents, including lethal encounters lacking transparent review. The issue is not whether law enforcement should exist; it is whether force is exercised under clear rules, subject to independent oversight, and constrained by law. A system that cannot credibly investigate itself invites erosion of trust.
Detention and Removal Without Due Process
The Declaration objected to people being seized and transported beyond the reach of local courts. Today, debates surrounding immigration enforcement raise parallel constitutional questions.
Lawful immigration enforcement is both necessary and legitimate. Nations have borders; laws must be enforced. But mass detention or deportation without meaningful access to hearings, counsel, or judicial review implicates core protections embedded in the Fourth and Fifth Amendments and the ancient safeguard of habeas corpus. Efficiency cannot substitute for due process without cost to liberty.
Concentration of Executive Power
The Declaration condemned the accumulation of powers in a single authority, law-making, law-enforcing, and law-interpreting drifting together.
Modern concerns about executive power, used to intimidate critics, pressure institutions, or bypass legislative and judicial constraints, echo that warning. This concern is not partisan. Conservatives, in particular, have long cautioned against unchecked federal authority. The question is whether institutional guardrails are respected regardless of who occupies office.
Independence Hall as Classroom, Not Relic
Independence Hall does not instruct visitors what to think; it teaches how to think about power. It reminds us that liberty erodes not only through dramatic acts, but through gradual normalization, when exceptions become habits, and urgency becomes justification.
The founders did not reject law enforcement, taxation, or executive authority. They rejected the absence of limits. Their revolution was not against order, but against unaccountable power.
Civic Vigilance at 250
As America marks 250 years since its declaration, the lesson of Independence Hall is not rebellion, it is vigilance.
Read the Declaration's grievances. Measure modern actions against the founder's warnings. Demand accountability without demonization, enforcement without cruelty, and leadership without intimidation.
The Declaration of Independence is still relevant today not because it guarantees perfection, but because it challenges every generation, including our own, to ask whether power still serves liberty, or whether liberty is quietly being asked to serve power instead.
###
Meet Sean Smith, a master of conservation, adventure, and storytelling! This award-winning
conservationist and former National Park and Forest Ranger has trekked through the wilderness of Yellowstone, Glacier, Mount St. Helens, and the North Cascades, keeping nature safe with his trusty ranger hat and boots. But Sean's talents don't stop there. He's a TEDx speaker and even a private pilot.
But amidst all these adventures, Sean's heart beats for storytelling. He's been spinning tales since childhood, and now he writes thrilling national park novels that'll have you hooked from the first page. Imagine the drama and mystery of the mountains combined with the adrenaline of a rollercoaster ride. That's what you'll find in Sean's books, set against the majestic backdrop of Yellowstone, Gettysburg, and Mount Rainier. His most recent thriller is set in Glacier and will drop later this year.
So, if you're craving an escape into the wild, look no further. Grab a copy of Sean's novels and prepare for an unforgettable adventure. These stories will transport you to the heart of the national parks, where danger lurks and heroes rise. Don't miss out! Find all his captivating novels right here and in the QR code included.
