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Self-Evident Truth and the Declaration of Independence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2009

Michael P. Zuckert
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Extract

One of the most difficult features of the Declaration of Independence is the assertion within it that “we hold these truths to be self-evident.…” Careful examination of the text of the Declaration reveals, however, that the truths are not in fact said to be “self-evident” but are rather, as a matter of healthy political practice, to be treated as if self-evident. Appreciating the status of the so-called self-evident truths above all brings into focus the problem of politics as civic education in this regime, especially as seen by Jefferson. It also helps focus attention on the structure of the Declaration and clarifies some recent scholarly disputes over the meaning and sources of the Declaration.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Review of Politics , Volume 49 , Issue 3 , Summer 1987 , pp. 319 - 339
Copyright
Copyright © University of Notre Dame 1987

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References

Notes

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