How Does the Declaration of Independence Influence the Constitution?
About this episode
The Declaration of Independence summarizes and defends the most fundamental ideas about America - about our government, the relationship between it and individuals, and how its proper place in public life. If the Constitution is a set of rules and processes, with a 'mission statement' in the Preamble, the Declaration of Independence presents the ideas that call for those rules and processes, and make sense of that mission statement.
As we prepare for America's 250th birthday, let's understand the connection between these two fundamental documents and how the relate to our ongoing experiment in self-government.
Host: Jeff Sikkenga
Executive Producer: Jeremy Gypton
Get every episode summarized
Each time The American Idea publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from The American Idea
The Last Adieu: Lafayette and Early America
The American Idea
Completing the Founding: The Northwest Ordinance of 1787
The American Idea
Fact or Fiction? Historians Discuss Young Washington
The American Idea
America's First Citizen: Character Lessons from George Washington
The American Idea