Why kids are not taught the Declaration of Independence

There is now considerable hostility to teaching the Declaration of Independence in schools. We are losing our history. There are historical precedents for the ideological struggles over the nature of our government which are occurring today.

Scott Johnson:

Reading the scholarly work of Woodrow Wilson is an educational experience. It is shocking to read the expressions of his disaffection for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. As R.J. Pestritto has demonstrated, the intellectual roots of modern liberalism lie in an assault on the ideas of natural rights and limited government. . . .  

. . .  Obama perfectly reflected Wilson's views in his 2001 comments on the civil rights movement and the Supreme Court. In the course of the famous radio interview Obama gave to WBEZ in Chicago, Obama observed that the Warren Court had not broken "free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution, at least as it's been interpreted, and the Warren Court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties." To achieve "redistributive change," the limitations of the Constitution would have to be overcome by the Court or by Congress.


Franklin Roosevelt touted welfare state liberalism in the "second Bill of Rights" . . .


Implicitly arguing that the teaching of the Declaration had become obsolete, Roosevelt asserted: "In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. . . .


Abraham Lincoln's argument with Stephen Douglas also came down to a disagreement over the Declaration of Independence. . .


The economic "rights" asserted by Roosevelt in his second Bill of Rights differ and conflict with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They are claims on the liberty of others. If I have a right to medical care, you must have a corresponding duty to supply it. If I have a right to a decent home, you must have a duty to provide it.


The argument for the welfare state belongs in the same family as "the arguments that kings have made for enslaving the people in all ages of the world. You will find that all the arguments in favor of king-craft were of this class; they always bestrode the necks of the people, not that they wanted to do it, but because the people were better off for being ridden." That's Lincoln again.


Lincoln memorably derided the underlying principle as "the same old serpent that says you work and I eat, you toil and I will enjoy the fruits of it."

Read the whole thing. Johnson also links further reading both pro and con concerning modern liberalism, or "progressivism", starting with George Will's excellent article on William Voegeli's new book.

Bill Whittle on helping the Declaration of Independence live again

Related:

The Timeless Magna Carta

Turning the liberalism of JFK on its head

Independence Day Oration by Frederick Douglass

Why American Liberty worked: Strong Women and Local Government