Standing on Principle

Now, as the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I continue to wrestle with that final idea. Had the signers of the Declaration not possessed the courage of their convictions to stand for what they believed was right, we would not have the Fourth of July to celebrate 250 years later—or at all.

It’s easy to take for granted the risks the signers of the Declaration faced when they put their names on a document that would become foundational to the nation’s history. In its closing, they write of their commitment to each other: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”¹ This final line reminds us of the high cost the signers were willing to pay if the American Revolution failed. In a proclamation issued on August 23, 1775, less than a year before the signing, King George III called for British officers to “exert their utmost Endeavours to suppress such Rebellion, and to bring the Traitors to Justice.”² The British government had also executed rebels in Scotland only a few decades before the American Revolution began.³ If the British won, the signers likely would have faced execution. Their belief in the cause of American liberty outweighed their fear of death.

Learning more about the Founding cemented many of my developing views on individual liberty because the stories showed me what it looks like for people to live according to their beliefs.

To help ensure that the British soldiers accused in the Boston Massacre received a fair trial, patriot and future president John Adams agreed to defend them in court, later describing it as “one of the most gallant, generous, […] and disinterested Actions of [his] whole Life.”⁴ At a time when the spirit of rebellion was growing in the American colonies, Adams still understood the importance of the rule of law. Representing British soldiers in Boston in 1770 was not a popular decision. Yet Adams, who was thirty-​five years old at the time, agreed to do it because he believed even unpopular defendants deserved legal protection. In Adams’s defense of the soldiers, he emphasized the importance of the rule of law: “The law, in all vicissitudes of government, fluctuations of the passions, or flights of enthusiasm, will preserve a steady undeviating course; it will not bend to the uncertain wishes, imaginations, and wanton tempers of men.”⁵ A just society depends on a commitment to the rule of law, regardless of the passions of those in power or of popular opinion.

Not all the Founders’ actions fit traditional ideas of living according to one’s beliefs, but conviction doesn’t always look like confronting King George III and declaring, “I’m free now.”

George Washington is perhaps the quintessential example of a courageous figure in the American Founding. He risked his life and reputation for the cause of independence, but some of his acts of conviction were quieter. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he never had the opportunity to become “properly” educated. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, for example, both knew several languages, attended university, and became lawyers.⁶

Washington understood what he lacked. He wrote in 1785 that he was “conscious of [his] defective education.”⁷ His contemporaries were also aware. In a letter to Benjamin Rush years after the revolution, John Adams called Washington “too illiterate, unlearned, [and] unread for his station.”⁸ Throughout his life, Washington dedicated time to studying and improving himself.⁹ He also privately donated money and stocks to support education.¹⁰ Rather than accept his limitations, Washington worked to overcome them.

Washington’s commitment to education may seem incomparable to his commitment to independence. While he did not face death because of this value, he did devote time, money, and discipline to it. For many people today, conviction may look more like this than Adams’s noble defense or the signers’ pledge of their lives.

Standing tall in the face of oppression—even with consequences less extreme than death—can be intimidating. The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is a good opportunity to consider our own courage in the face of injustice. When given the chance to stand on principle, will we do it? It’s easy to say yes, but it’s more difficult when faced with real, specific ramifications: discomfort, public backlash, or, in the case of the signers of the Declaration, death.

I will likely never sign a declaration of independence. But many of us have and will continue to face issues of injustice. These instances might be in public, such as defending someone widely seen as undeserving. Or maybe they only require us to act in accordance with the values we say we hold, such as a commitment to self-​improvement. Wherever these choices take place—home, school, the office, the courthouse, the capitol—the weight behind them remains.

Even when there are personal costs, living with freedom means carrying the burden of protecting it. It is only by bolstering our courage and standing on principle that freedom can endure.