Liam Riordan | Does anything from the year 1776 matter today?

The Declaration of Independence is a fixture of American culture and the reason that many of us try to spend time with family, picnic, and see fireworks on the Fourth of July. This illustrated talk looks at the text of the famous document ("all men are created equal...with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness") and considers some of its late-eighteenth century context. This will set the stage for a discussion about the meaning of the Declaration's political ideals as well as its more sordid qualities for US public life today.