Chuck Grassley: “as Americans, our understanding of history has a tremendous impact on our sense of who we are and where we are headed.…”

“as Americans, our understanding of history has a tremendous impact on our sense of who we are and where we are headed. That is why it is so important for Americans to have a good understanding of our history--all of our history. Slavery is a great stain on our country's history, and its legacy impacts us yet today. We must not flinch from recognizing the suffering inflicted on so many Americans, contrary to our highest ideals as a nation. Still, our Nation is unique in human history in that it was founded not on the basis of some sort of common ethnic identity but on certain enduring principles that are the equal heritage of all Americans. Those principles are best articulated in the simple but eloquent words of the Declaration of Independence. I don't have to put quotes around these because everybody knows these words: ``We hold these truths to be self- evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.'' Our patriot forefathers concluded that these principles were worth fighting for, and, indeed, they took up arms. The odds were stacked against them, and they happened to know that, but they, nonetheless, risked everything because they believed so deeply in those fundamental truths that were stated in the Declaration of Independence.…”