America 250: The Tradition of the Armed Citizen Lives On
The Declaration of Independence reaffirmed the right to self-determination—and the uniquely American practice of keeping and bearing arms allowed a new nation to thrive.
January 7, 2026
News Article
The Declaration of Independence reaffirmed the right to self-determination—and the uniquely American practice of keeping and bearing arms allowed a new nation to thrive.
This is the 250-year anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which in 1776 declared the “self-evident” truth that all men have the “unalienable rights” to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Governments are instituted “to secure these rights,” but if it “becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government … .” If “a long train of abuses and usurpations … evinces a design to reduce them [the people] under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.”
With that, the Continental Congress declared the colonies “to be free and independent states … absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown.” Relying “on the protection of Divine Providence,” the signers of the Declaration “mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.” The United States of America was born.
