On the recordJune 16, 2010
on a hot day in the summer of 1776, delegates from across the American Colonies gathered in Philadelphia to cast off the yoke of tyranny and assert the fundamental right of self-government. At that moment, when our Republic was born, our Founders ratified a document unique in human history which contained the landmark words: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. This simple creed became the justification of a great Revolutionary War, which gave rise to the thriving democracy we inhabit today. That is why we celebrate every Fourth of July as Independence Day--because of the principles laid out in that remarkable Declaration. But, tragically, for almost a century after that document was ratified, the equality of all men remained an unfulfilled promise. It began to seem that the Declaration of Independence defined our aspirations rather than our core beliefs. Slavery, brutal and unjust, remained legal throughout the majority of the 19th century and helped set the stage for the bloodiest war we have ever known. But, as President Lincoln had dearly hoped, out of that terrible violence was born a new and more complete freedom--a freedom that wiped out the scourge of slavery once and for all and realized the promise our Founding Fathers documented for all Americans. That is why, on Saturday, many in this country observe another independence day known as Juneteenth.
