I started 1776 a little while ago (though I don’t think I’ve indicated that yet on my sidebar), and the other night I was inclined after reading in it to look something up in the Declaration of Independence. In particular, McCullough referred to the United States of America as having been established by the Declaration. I wanted to verify this, so I sat up in bed, pulled my copy of the National Constitution Center’s Constitution + Declaration of Independence off my Gropius bookshelf and flipped to the Declaration:
“WE, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in GENERAL CONGRESS, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World…”
Whether McCullough was right in the context of how he referred to the United States of America in 1776 is still not clear to me, but he certainly wasn’t off his rocker…
Now, I told you that bit there to remind you of something else in that sacred document, for after I read that paragraph of the Declaration (the last one), I felt like reading the rest of it, where I noticed this allegation among the several detailed against King George III.
“FOR transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended Offences:”
Now it seems like King George II is at it. And who says there’s no such thing as progress? In 225 years, it’ll be an elected president using secret prisons in Romania and Egypt, and in 450 years, it’ll finally be a thing of the past!
It reminds me of a quote by PJ O’Rourke in Parliament of Whores…
“There are twenty-seven specific complaints against the British Crown set forth in the Declaration of Independence. To modern ears they still sound reasonable. They still sound reasonable, in large part, because so many of them can be leveled against the present federal government of the United States.”
Speaking of which, since you’re in Boston I recommend you take a look at the Atlantic Ideas Tour, which includes an appearance by Mr. O’Rourke himself, but also some very interesting (and reasonably-priced) panels…
http://www.theatlantic.com/ideastour/tour/boston.mhtml
And this is all a way of saying: Hello! Hope all is well in Cambridge! The Elm City is the same old. SOM is a whirlwind so far, so I won’t pretend to make a solid judgement on it, but I’m quite optimistic about the year, and I hope Harvard Law is making you feel the same. Drink one at John Harvard’s for me.
KEB