I have a problem. Everyone wants a talk this year on the Declaration of Independence. But I’m no Carlton Larson with a new book coming out on that. In fact, I’ve never written anything on Declaration. Alas.
Here’s one unusual take on the Declaration. When Winston Churchill gave his famous “Iron Curtain” speech in 1946, he said that the principles of “the English common law find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence.” Comparing the common law to the Declaration may seem odd. After all, one is revolutionary and the other is definitely not.
On the other hand, we understand the Declaration as open-ended and evolving in manner not unlike the common law. And there is what might be called a common-law progression from the Declaration to the Gettysburg Address and to the “I Have a Dream” speech. None of these statements are law, but they are often treated as legal authorities.
Is there more to this idea or comparison? I’m not yet sure.