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Historian Maurizio Valsania writes that around this time each year, Americans pay special attention to their founding document, the Declaration of Independence. Mostly, the July Fourth holiday celebrates the “lofty, ‘self-evident’ principles” articulated in the declaration, “that ‘all men are created equal’ and that they are ‘endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights’ such as ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’”

But Valsania says that all that positivity doesn’t reflect the entire document.

“The declaration doesn’t just go all pie in the sky,” he writes. “And it’s more than an academic paper waxing on and on about the fashionable philosophical doctrines of the 18th century – freedom and equality – or the coolest philosopher ever, John Locke.

"The declaration provides a realistic depiction of a wounded society, one shivering with fears and teetering on the brink of disaster.”

Not simply a celebration, the declaration was a statement of the colonies’ intent to divorce from their mother country, the country colonists had once believed would protect and defend them.

“Readers of the declaration cannot escape the impression that this document carries a sense of reluctance, betrayal, fear and even sadness,” Valsania writes.

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