I am happy to pass along this impressive volume from my friends at the Civitas Institute:
The contributors have strived to evaluate the Declaration in its entirety, a document whose excellence serves as the foundation of American political life. We also recognize that the legacy and principles of the Declaration are being questioned in this, the two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary year. What the reader should understand is that the authors featured in this volume are not in doubt about the principles of the Declaration and their meaning for American citizens and politics. With essays on the Declaration’s teachings on natural rights, freedom, anthropology, natural theology, legal standing, revolutionary principles, civic virtue, executive power, biblical religion, foreign policy, and notably its influence on our culture and memory, we hope that you, the reader, will deepen your understanding of the Declaration and develop greater devotion to this remarkable country we have been called to uphold and cherish.
In this light, the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin presents this volume to the reader, featuring essays by 25 scholars examining all aspects of the Declaration of Independence. A large majority of contributors teach in the newly established centers and schools of civic thought and education that now inhabit major universities across the country, deepening public instruction for students, ensuring that a richer set of ideas circulates on campus, and inevitably improving higher education in America. This volume will contribute to those efforts. The Civitas Institute is grateful to all who have skillfully shaped this collection of essays.
