Amid contention, criticism, and compromise, a divided nation had to present a unified front. It came at a cost.

Governing principles came in 1789 with the U.S. Constitution, which did not mention God. In 1791, states then ratified the ...

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain ...

A new exhibition in Lower Manhattan is offering visitors a chance to stand face-to-face with the documents that shaped the ...

Warning: This graphic requires JavaScript. Please enable JavaScript for the best experience. Historian Andrew Davenport arrived at Monticello with an extraordinary ...

Americans often treat their nation’s founding text as a relic best observed through thick glass at the National Archives. It is easy to forget that the old document was once a top story. Emily Sneff, ...

Our country is in the midst of an important celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, but many Americans are unaware that we did not actually have ...

The famous second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence likely drew its phrasing from a sermon delivered in the early 1700s. Tim and David Barton, the president and founder of Wallbuilders, ...

The main objectives of the Declaration of Independence were to announce a cause of action and formally justify the Continental Congress’s July 2, 1776, decision to separate from Great Britain. The ...

On the Fourth of July 1776, congressional delegates in Philadelphia adopted the Declaration of Independence, then ordered that it be widely “proclaimed.” Couriers carried the printed version by ...

They launched a bold experiment to create a new nation where the government answered to the people, not the other way around. The experiment was built on a few core principles — human dignity, the ...