The Declaration of Independence and American Dreams

The Declaration of Independence revealed both the American revolutionaries’ aspirational new ideals and their often-conflicting established values and interests. As a result, the Declaration has both inspired reform causes and justified restraints on radical changes throughout American history. Dr. Rogers M. Smith, Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, illuminates the tensions within the Declaration, the many roles it has played in American history, and what it might meant to take the Declaration as central to American national identity today.