Dozens of people gathered Saturday afternoon to dig into the meaning of the Declaration of Independence, and how its principles fit into America’s culture today.
The program, focusing on the phrase “Life and Liberty,” was at the McLean County Museum of History and is part of the "Democracy Dialogues" series of public discussions this year, marking the the museum’s celebration of America 250, the nationwide focus on the milestone anniversary of the Declaration's signing.
To get at the heart of why “Life and Liberty,” participants first heard from Illinois State University professor Matthijs Tieleman, who specializes in early American history. Tieleman provided historical context behind the phrase. Later, the group of about 60 people broke into small groups to talk about the concept.
“There’s a contradiction between life and liberty, and the founders essentially wanted to solve that contradiction,” Tieleman said before the event.
Tieleman’s upcoming book, “The Patriot Atlantic: The Dawn of the Age of the Revolution,” examines the transatlantic connections between the revolutionary Patriot movements in America, Ireland, and the Netherlands during the 1700s.
Candace Summers, the history museum’s senior director of education, spearheads the Democracy Dialogues project.
"This is to give people the opportunity to converse with each other, especially in a time where there is so little dialogue between people. Something we all have in common are those founding documents — The Declaration, the Constitution. " Summers said.
"And hopefully we'll learn from each other's shared experiences. We are hoping for a a real intergenerational dialogue," she added.
Nearly a dozen partners helped Summers and the museum create the series, she said. "A real intergenerational dialogue
They include ISU and its Center for Civic Engagement, Heartland Community College, WGLT, The Dirksen Congressional Center, Not in our Town B-N, the Twin City chapter of the NAACP, Prairie Pride Coalition, YWCA McLean County, Bloomington-Normal YMCA, and the League of Women Voters McLean County.
Besides the dialogues, Saturday’s event included information tables about how participants can become more involved in the community, and civic engagement specifically. Pocket versions of the U.S. Constitution also were available.
At one table, Kyle Ciani, a retired history professor who volunteers with the League of Women Voters, shared information on how to register to vote.
The philosophy of life, liberty
Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence, took the concepts of life and liberty from the philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, Tieleman told the crowd Saturday.
He said Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers intentionally included the word "Life” in reference to Hobbes, the early Enlightenment thinker who argued in his work “Leviathan” that before the establishment of structured government, humans weren’t safe. He said they required a social contract — between the people and the government, to rein in chaos.
“Hobbes envisioned an all-powerful state,” said Tieleman, adding the term "Liberty” enters from a critic of Hobbes — fellow philosopher Locke.
“Locke more than anybody elevated the concept of liberty,” said Tieleman. In Locke’s “Two Treatises of Government,” the writer addressed Hobbes’ argument about government's role in protecting life, but argued it’s not just life that gets taken from people, but also property.
So, Locke also said people should also have a voice in that government, to protect the work they do, the property they've earned.
Tieleman told the group that in Locke's thinking, “Hobbes is wrong to say that we have to sacrifice all of our freedoms in order to create a government that protects life. ‘No.’ Locke says, ‘Don’t just sacrifice liberty at whim.'”
Locke argued for the need of a representative form of government, added the professor.
“Life and liberty are contradictory,” said Tieleman. “If you establish government, you give away liberty. If you want liberty, you want government kept at bay.” So, the founders discussed this contradictory nature, he said, and worked to bridge this contradiction as they framed the federal constitution.
They did so by focusing on the concept of virtue, said Tieleman.
“Basically, if you give people liberty, they need to be a moral, good people,” and that goes for the people within the government, that was the way of thinking, according to Tieleman.
Small groups gather
After Tieleman’s talk, organizers divided the crowd into five groups, sending each group to separate locations throughout the museum. There, with folding chairs set into circles, facilitators trained by ISU's Center for Civic Engagement, led further discussions about the concept of life and liberty, and how those two contrasting ideas co-exist in the United States.
In the museum’s “Making A Home” exhibit on its first floor, one group was led by community member Camille Taylor. Some of the questions pondered were, “What do these founding principles mean to you?,” How have things changed in our society since 1776?,” “How have these principles been upheld?” and “What impact do they still have on our nation today?”
More democracy talks
The Democracy Dialogues series officially kicked off in February with a public conversation between U.S. Sen. Dick Durban and former U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. That event was moderated by WGLT senior reporter Charlie Schlenker.
Three dialogue sessions remain:
- “The Pursuit of Happiness,” April 11 at the YWCA.
- “All Men Are Created Equal,” Sept. 22 at HCC.
- “Consent of the Governed,” Nov. 19, at the YWCA.
Participants are encouraged, but not required, to register. Learn more here.
