![]() ![]() But a short sequence of events in 1775 pushed the Continental Congress to action: the Battle of Lexington on April 18-19, 1775, the capture of Fort Ticonderoga by some out-of-control colonials on May 9, Bunker Hill on June 17, the British destruction of Falmouth (now Portland), Maine on Oct. First came the English Declaration of Rights that permitted the nobility to restrain the monarch in 1689. She recalls the history that led to the Declaration. ![]() The simple distance from Great Britain had much to do with their dissatisfaction, too, coupled with insensitive colonial taxation. Professor Maier argues the Declaration was a product of “the grubby world of eighteenth-century politics,” with contributions from “a cast of thousands.” Its impetus came from a growing belief that monarchy and hereditary rule were “major constitutional errors.” ![]() They are indeed worthwhile documents to study, but are they as perfect as we have been led to believe? Three key documents epitomize the start of “these” United States: the Declaration, the Constitution, and its following initial amendments, the Bill of Rights. Have we over-sanctified the American past in the last 50 years? It may well be, argues Pauline Maier, a professor of history at MIT, in her now-classic analysis of the creation of our Declaration of Independence. ![]()
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