Rosemarie Zagarri on The Declaration’s Grievances
About this episode
Historian Rosemarie Zagarri discusses the significance of the grievances in the Declaration of Independence and their implications for understanding American liberty.
When Americans think about the Declaration of Independence, we tend to remember its most famous words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident,” and its promise of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” But to fully understand the Declaration we also need to read the section most Americans skip: its 27 grievances against King George III. For the founding generation, these grievances were not simply a list of complaints. They were central to the Declaration’s argument, laying out the case for how the King and Parliament had violated their rights and why independence had become necessary. Historian Rosemarie Zagarri explores what the grievances meant in 1776, what they reveal about the colonists’ understanding of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and how reading them more closely can deepen our understanding of the Declaration as a constitutional argument and a justification for revolution. Julie Silverbrook, chief content and learning officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates. Resources The Declaration of Independence, National Constitution Center “The…
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