Suppose you are a mere colony of another country and you want to be independent. How do you accomplish that?

The first step is to notify the world that you now consider yourself to be free and independent of any other country.

That is what our Founding Fathers did when they issued the Declaration of Independence. They declared to the world that they now considered themselves independent of England. The world watched in amazement. The American colonies were declaring themselves independent of England? Naturally, the French were pleased, as they had been at war with England for centuries. Indeed, we could not have done that except for the assistance of France.

The Declaration of Independence was translated into many languages and printed in many newspapers. The rest of the world just watched. How would this turn out? England was the most powerful nation in the world and they would not take this lying down. There was sure to be war.

Indeed, the Americans knew that this would mean war. This war would be called The Revolutionary War. The last line in the Declaration of Independence reads: “And, for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Devine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

They knew as they signed that document that King George III would have every signer rounded up and hanged, and have their property seized. It was a brave thing to do, especially for John Hancock, a millionaire who wrote his name enormously large as if to spit in the king’s eye.

But the Americans had several advantages in the war. First, England would have to supply its army from 8,000 miles away while the Americans could live off the land. Secondly, the Americans knew every creek, ditch, mountain and valley by heart while the British would have to depend on maps. The Americans had what we now call the “home court advantage.”

The second sentence of the declaration, which is also the second paragraph, begins with the most profound words ever written and recognized by people around the globe: “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal,” which seems strange since many of those people, including Thomas Jefferson, owned slaves. This line became a joke in England, which had ended slavery there.

But it goes on “that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights (rights that cannot be taken away by any government) that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Notice that the phrase “among these” implies that there are more than just these three rights. We have the right to travel, to marry, to work, to own property, etc.

Then it says “to secure these rights governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” This is to say that we let ourselves be governed and indeed we elect the government who will govern us.

We have just elected such a government with the first black president, and with the Democrats controlling the Congress. We have decided that the Republicans have not done a good job and so they have been replaced in a peaceful manner. In many countries, such a change of government requires a “coup d’etat” or bloody revolution.

This is in keeping with the Declaration of Independence, which reads next: “Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends (securing the inalienable rights) it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”

This is what we have done with our votes. Barack Obama’s presidency will reorganize the powers of the government and lay down new principles as a foundation of governing.

After the introduction, the Declaration of Independence accuses King George of repeated injuries and usurpations and proceeds to list them. To introduce this list, the Declaration of Independence reads “To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.”

If you go to the Internet and read the Declaration of Independence, you will find in this list things that seem very familiar to our own time.

The point is that all that is happening today was foreseen by our Founding Fathers. This is because powerful men behave the same throughout time and thus history. What is happening today is only new to those who do not know history.

And this is why history is among the core subjects that we teach in school. Perhaps the new WASL test should have a section on American history. We are raising new citizens, after all.