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What Happened in 1776?

European colonists in America were ruled by far-away monarchs and increasingly wished to be independent. Ideas about freedom and human rights spread throughout the 18th century. In 1776, a group of leaders from the British colonies in America signed a “Declaration of Independence” that stated a new set of principles for an independent nation to be called the United States of America.

It read, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

This Declaration offered an opportunity to establish relationships and create a government based on truth, equality, rights, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Putting these principles into practice would not be easy. Universal human rights, acknowledged by the founders of the nation, would have to be turned into legal civil rights for all people. In a sense, all of American history has been a story of how ordinary people have stood up for these principles. The Mendez family, and many others before and since, showed us how to put our American principles into practice.