"...It is America's birthday. Ours is the first nation whose birth certificate is also a great philosophical document. The Declaration of Independence was the inspiration for many other revolutions, but only the United States of America has succeeded these past two hundred and thirty-three years in bringing forth a "new order of the ages." America's experiment in ordered liberty is unique. Many countries have fought revolutions. Many have proclaimed the rights of man. But America has from the beginning acknowledged her liberties as a gracious endowment from a loving God.
The man who wrote that declaration was chosen for the task because his fellow members of the Continental Congress were impressed with his ability to write clearly and convincingly. Even earlier than 1776, young Thomas Jefferson had put the Americans' case well: "The God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?"
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