A talk given as as part of Campion College’s Classsical Liberalism Lecture Series<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. David M. Hart 22 April, 2026 Campion College, Parramatta<\/p>\n\n\n\n On this lecture\/talk, see<\/p>\n\n\n\n Contents:<\/p>\n\n\n\n My more scholarly title was: \u201cThe Role played by Declarations of Rights and Independence in the Classical Liberal tradition: An Historical Perspective\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n My more flippant title was “1776 and All That” – a reference to an amusing and rather cynical book published in 1930 in Punch<\/em> magazine making fun of the garbled version of history people think they remember from their school days: W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman, 1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England, Comprising All the Parts You Can Remember, Including 103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings and 2 Genuine Dates<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n What are we “commemorating” or remembering this year?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 250 years after 1776 – what happened in that year?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its special Significance for “Us” and its relevance for this program at Campion College<\/p>\n\n\n\n My experience of being in the US on July 4th<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Preamble:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people\u00a0to dissolve the political bands<\/strong>\u00a0which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which\u00a0the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God<\/strong>\u00a0entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We hold these truths to be self-evident<\/strong>, that all men are created equal<\/strong>, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights<\/strong>, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness<\/strong>.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed<\/strong>, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it<\/strong>, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations<\/strong>, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government<\/strong>, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n H.L. Mencken (1921)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When things get so balled up that the people of a country have to cut loose from some other country, and go it on their own hook, without asking no permission from nobody, excepting maybe God Almighty, then they ought to let everybody know why they done it, so that everybody can see they are on the level, and not trying to put nothing over on nobody. <\/p>\n\n\n\n All we got to say on this proposition is this: first, you and me is as good as anybody else, and maybe a damn sight better; second, nobody ain\u2019t got no right to take away none of our rights; third, every man has got a right to live, to come and go as he pleases, and to have a good time however he likes, so long as he don\u2019t interfere with nobody else. That any government that don\u2019t give a man these rights ain\u2019t worth a damn; also, people ought to choose the kind of government they want themselves, and nobody else ought to have no say in the matter. That whenever any government don\u2019t do this, then the people have got a right to can it and put in one that will take care of their interests.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n David M. Hart \u201cDinner Party\u201d version (2026)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When it becomes necessary for one people to break away from another, to cut the political ties that bind them, and to take up an equal and independent place in the world\u2014as the laws of nature and the Creator entitle them to do\u2014basic respect for the rest of humanity requires that they explain the reasons why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We reckon these truths are obvious: that all people are created equal, that they\u2019re born with rights no one can take away, among them the rights to live, to be free, and to chase happiness. To protect these rights, people set up governments, which only get their rightful power from the consent of the governed. When any government starts wrecking these rights, the people have the right\u2014and the duty\u2014to change or ditch it, and to set up a new one that\u2019s more likely to keep them safe and happy.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n David M. Hart \u201cBackyard BBQ\u201d version (2026)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Look, sometimes in life you\u2019ve just gotta cut the cord. One lot of people decides they\u2019ve had enough of being bossed around by another, so they break free and stand on their own two feet. When you do that, you\u2019ve gotta give the world a heads-up why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s the deal: everyone\u2019s born equal, and everyone\u2019s got rights that no king or pollie can pinch \u2014 like the right to live your life, be free, and have a fair crack at happiness. Governments are only there to look after that, and they only get power \u2019cause the people let \u2019em. If a government goes rotten and starts trampling those rights, the people can chuck it in the bin and set up a new one that actually does the job.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There were two kinds of \u201cMarianne\u201d – the personification of liberty<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Female Combatants, or Who Shall\u201d (Jan. 26, 1776)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prud\u2019hon, \u201cLa Libert\u00e9\u201d (1790s)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fran\u00e7ois Rude, “La Marseillaise” (The Departure of the Volunteers of 1792), 1833\u20136, Arc de Triomphe de l\u2019Etoile<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Head of Liberty at the World’s Fair (Paris, 1878): Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Auguste Bartholdi, “Liberty Enlightening the World” (The Statue of Liberty) (1870??, 1886).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Franklin J. Schaffner, \u201cThe Planet of the Apes\u201d (1968)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Klinger as Lady Liberty in MA<\/em>S*H (1975)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dolly Parton as Lady Liberty (1976)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eug\u00e8ne Delacroix, “Liberty leading the People on the Barricades” (1830)<\/p>\n\n\n\n David M. Hart, \u201cLibertas sub Cruce Australis\u201d (Liberty under the Light of the Southern Cross) (2026) (1790s)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Benjamin Franklin, “Join or Die” (1754) – originally designed to encourgage unified opposition to French and Indian War;l taken up and reused during the Revolution<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Gadsden flag created by an officer in late 1775 and used throughtout the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Symbol often used in modern protest movements<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leonard Bernstein \/ Lillian Helman, \u201cCandide\u201d (1956)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peter H. Hunt and Peter Stone, \u201c1776\u201d (1969, 1972)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lin-Manuel Miranda, \u201cHamilton\u201d (2015)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ending of the film with Thomas Jefferson signing the DoI in the film of the musical \u201c1776\u201d (1972) based on Robert Edge Pine, \u201cCongress voting Independence\u201d (1784)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Topher Field designed T-Shirt: “Too much 1984. Not enough 1776”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The frontyard of a patriot in our old neighborhood in Indianapolis<\/p>\n\n\n\n See also the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 250th Anniversaary of the American Declaration of Independence<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 2026 is the 250th anniversary of a number of important publications, such as the following: <\/p>\n\n\n\n It seems only fair to allow King George III, whose government was so harshly criticised by Thomas Jefferson and his colleagues, the “right of reply”. So we have constructed a rebuttal which he might have made, concerning both the principles which lay behind the Declaration as well as the specific charges made against him. html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is also worth noting that in 1975 (the 199th anniversary of the American Declaration) the Australian libertarian “Workers Paty” published its Party Platform<\/em> which included a Bill of Rights which we have here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2800And to celebrate the 200th anniversary, since we don\u2019t have one of our own, I have written my own “Declaration of Independence” and a “Bill of Rights” in time for “Australia Day” (26 January, 2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n We should add these to the larger collection of 28 Declarations of Rights and Liberties which I put together in 2024:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Declaration of Independence after 250 Years: Success or Failure?\u201d A talk given as as part of Campion College’s Classsical Liberalism Lecture Series. Dr. David M. Hart 22 April, 2026 Campion College, Parramatta On this lecture\/talk, see Contents: Preliminary Remarks My more scholarly title was: \u201cThe Role played by Declarations of Rights and Independence in the … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_import_markdown_pro_load_document_selector":0,"_import_markdown_pro_submit_text_textarea":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[75,77,90],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-204290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art","category-tradition","category-talks"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204290"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204290\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":204807,"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204290\/revisions\/204807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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Preliminary Remarks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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A personal aside<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Historical Context<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Historical Context of Revolution and Englightenment<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Enlightenment: Liberal Criticism and Proposals for Reform<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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The Idea of \u201c1776\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Some Important Texts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The Declaration of Independence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Key Ideas of the DoI<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Translations of the DoI<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Works inspired by the DoI 1<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Works inspired by the DoI 2: The Burke-Paine-Wollstonecraft Debate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cTranslations\u201d of the DoI<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Marianne and Statues of Liberty<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The Statue of Liberty<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Symbols of Resistance: \u201cDon\u2019t tread on me\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Singing about Liberty<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Odds and Ends<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Conclusion: Success or Failure?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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![JPG<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\nthe standard French translation done by La Rochefoucauld in 1783 in\u00a0enhanced html<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\na French version we have done in the style of Jefferson in\u00a0enhanced html<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\na Latin version we have done in the style of Cicero in\u00a0enhanced html<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\na Latin version done by an unnamed member of Harvard University in the 1820s in\u00a0enhanced html<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\na version “translated” into the American vernacular (1921) by H.L. Mencken in\u00a0enhanced html<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\na version we have “translated” into modern Australian English in\u00a0enhanced html<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\nanother version we have “translated” into more colloquial Australian English \u2013 the “backyard BBQ” version \u2013 in\u00a0enhanced html<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\nmy own updated version of a Bill of Rights written in time for this coming “Australia Day” (26 January, 2026) \u2013 “Libertas utrimque maris” (Liberty on both sides of the sea) in\u00a0enhanced html<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nIt seems only fair to allow King George III, whose government was so harshly criticised by Thomas Jefferson and his colleagues, the “right of reply”. So we have constructed a rebuttal which he might have made, concerning both the principles which lay behind the Declaration as well as the specific charges made against him. html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nIt is also worth noting that in 1975 (the 199th anniversary of the American Declaration) the Australian libertarian “Workers Paty” published its Party Platform<\/em> which included a Bill of Rights which we have here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\nsee the sections “The Fundamental Principle”, “I.1. Individual Rights”, and “I.2. Rights, Justice and the Law” and the proposed Amendment of the Constitution concerning a “Bill of Rights”\u00a0enhanced html<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\u2800And to celebrate the 200th anniversary, since we don\u2019t have one of our own, I have written my own “Declaration of Independence” and a “Bill of Rights” in time for “Australia Day” (26 January, 2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nA Declaration of Independence from the State” (26 January, 2026)\u00a0enhanced html<\/a>and\u00a0\u00a0PDF<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n“A New Bill of Rights and the Enumerated Powers of a Limited Government” (26 January, 2026)\u00a0enhanced html<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nWe should add these to the larger collection of 28 Declarations of Rights and Liberties which I put together in 2024:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nOn Limiting the Power of the State: A Collection of Petitions, Charters, Decrees, and Declarations of Rights and Liberties (1215-1848)<\/em>\u00a0(The Pittwater Free Press, 2024). In\u00a0enhanced html<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe Declaration of Independence after 250 Years: Success or Failure?\u201d A talk given as as part of Campion College’s Classsical Liberalism Lecture Series. Dr. David M. Hart 22 April, 2026 Campion College, Parramatta On this lecture\/talk, see Contents: Preliminary Remarks My more scholarly title was: \u201cThe Role played by Declarations of Rights and Independence in the … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_import_markdown_pro_load_document_selector":0,"_import_markdown_pro_submit_text_textarea":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[75,77,90],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-204290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art","category-tradition","category-talks"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204290"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204290\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":204807,"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204290\/revisions\/204807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"http:\/\/davidmhart.com\/liberty\/ClassicalLiberalism\/Rights\/1776-DeclarationIndependence\/Erklaerung\/Unabhaengigkeitserklaerung-900px.jpg\"){kind=link}