The Pursuit of Happiness:

A Founding Promise Worth Celebrating

This Friday, we mark the 249th birthday of the United States of America—a nation born on July 4, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.Two years earlier, the First Continental Congress had convened in response to the “Intolerable Acts” imposed by King George III and the British Parliament. Their calls for justice and a boycott of British goods fell on deaf ears, leading the colonies down a path toward independence.In drafting the Declaration, Thomas Jefferson laid out a powerful case for liberty. He acknowledged that, “Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes,” but insisted they must be replaced when they become destructive to the God-given rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”That final phrase—the pursuit of happiness—has become part of our national DNA. Jefferson believed the role of government was to be built “on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”George Washington later described our American experiment as “the last great experiment for promoting human happiness.”At first glance, that might seem like a strange national goal—happiness? But in an age when monarchs ruled through domination, conquest, and control, America’s founders had the audacity to place personal freedom and human flourishing at the heart of our democracy.Of course, we must admit that America has not always been a happy or just place for everyone. But it is also true that a representative democracy—with elected leaders, separation of powers, and constitutional protections—offers the best path for citizens to shape their own future and to seek the happiness our founders envisioned.From the battles of Lexington and Concord to today, countless Americans have sacrificed to defend the liberties laid out in our founding documents. It’s those liberties that make the pursuit of happiness possible.So this Fourth of July, let us celebrate not just the fireworks and parades—but the freedom, the responsibility, and the unrelenting hope that define who we are. May we live lives worthy of the freedom we’ve inherited, and may we pass on that torch of liberty to the next generation with courage and conviction.Happy Independence Day—celebrate safely and gratefully