This can be done for the Declaration in a number of ways: by showing that it was the product of a pressing international context in 1776 by examining the host of imitations it spawned and the many analogous documents that have been issued from 1790 to 1988 and by comparing the starkly different histories of its present reception within and beyond the United States.Īccordingly, this essay will deal with the immediate motivations that led to the Declaration in 1776, with the first 50 years of reactions to it, at home and abroad, and with the subsequent history of declaring independence across the world from Venezuela to New Zealand. If a document so indelibly American as the Declaration of Independence can be put successfully into a world context, then surely almost any subject in United States history can be internationalized. Little wonder, then, that it stands as a cornerstone of Americans' sense of their own uniqueness.
The "self-evident truths" it proclaimed to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" have guaranteed it a sacrosanct place as "American scripture," a testament to the special qualities of a chosen people.
Where better to begin internationalizing the history of the United States than at the beginning, with the Declaration of Independence? No document is as familiar to students or so deeply entwined with what it means to be an American.
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