In January, I introduced Mountain States Legal Foundation’s 2023 campaign—The Free American: The Other Endangered Species.The inspiration behind our efforts this year is to turn the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on its head. By using the ESA’s own framework and questions, we identified Americans who want to live their own lives in liberty as a threatened category. The greatest dangers to the Free American are predatory Big Government and poaching Colluders, along with non-originalist judges and a culture too dependent on bureaucratic solutions.
Over the course of the year, we’ll explore various topics in great depth, arming you with a wealth of information, principled arguments to help us recover the Other Endangered Species, and lessons from history that highlight why MSLF’s work is so important.
For February, I want to start from a positive position. It is true that the Free American is threatened by all that we’ve mention thus far. But, to appreciate the danger we face, it is good to understand where we’ve been, and how our forefathers had hoped we would develop. To that end, I dedicate February to the natural order of the Free American.
And what better place to start than with the cradle of our country, the Declaration of Independence? For at its core, it represents a promise made by the American people to themselves and to the world that they would unshackle themselves from tyranny.
Self-Evident Truths
Though one could narrowly look at the Declaration of Independence as a mere statement of separation—an act of war, even—its opening paragraphs outline one of the most eloquent arguments for self-government ever penned.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men 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.
This powerful statement asserts that human rights are not granted by governments. Instead, inherent to basic human nature are essential rights that cannot be denied by any power on Earth. Such a principle rejects any form of tyranny and fiercely demands a rule of consent of the governed. It demands a basic respect for the fundamental equality between all human beings.
The very fact that we are equal and equally endowed with our rights means that no one may justly take our rights from us.
The Promise
That self-evident truth of our natural rights and fundamental equality is the promise that weaves throughout the Declaration’s 1,320 words. The principles enshrined in the document have been used as a basis for countless political and social movements throughout American history, from the abolition of slavery to the struggle for women’s suffrage and the civil rights movement. Frederick Douglass’ famous “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” speech articulates in a powerful voice the promise:
The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn
Delivered before the abolition of slavery, Douglass’ point, though bitter, is inspiring. The Declaration’s promise is that all men are equal, and that the American society will uphold and respect this equality in law and government. Slavery was the stain that painfully highlighted that we had fallen short of our promise, but it was nevertheless the right promise, worthy to be kept.
A Vision of a Natural Order
Our Founding Fathers envisioned, Frederick Douglass longed to have, and Mountain States fights for an America that keeps its promises. The desired society the Declaration of Independence outlines—the natural order of liberty, so to speak—is one where Americans are free to live their lives without the oppression of Big Government. It is an order where industry thrives, voices speak boldly, self-defense is secured, and equality is respected.
That vision of a society which is built upon and acts upon the principles of the Declaration is the promise.
What’s our tool for keeping such a promise? As I’ll chat about next week, the guarantee of the promise is our very own Constitution.