Thomas Jefferson began writing the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago. I am someone who carries with me copies of our Constitution, but as we mark this anniversary, it occurred to me to re-read the 27 grievances outlined in the Declaration of Independence.
Because after all, as Mark Twain said, history does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes.
Six months into President Donald Trump‘s second term, Twain’s quip rings in my ears.
Because after his self-evident truths, Jefferson surgically and sonorously catalogues the tyrannical King George III’s many offenses against the Colonies; the reasons for which declaring independence was necessary.
Here are just a handful—can you hear history rhyme?
1. “He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.”
Think: Shrugging at Supreme Court rulings, belittling and demonizing court opinions, and using incendiary rhetoric to attack the judicial branch.
2. “He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.”
Think: Gutting crucial, congressional funding for federal agencies—the NIH, SAMHSA, USAID, and more.
3. “He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.”
Think: Sending the National Guard and the Marines to intimidate American, largely peaceful, protestors in Los Angeles—without the consent of the governor or mayor.
4. “For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world.”
Think: Trump’s incoherent “Liberation Day” tariffs on our closest allies and trading partners. Igniting an all-out trade war with China.
5. “For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent …”
Again, think tariffs: they are a tax on consumers—and they risk paralyzing businesses by unpredictably increasing costs. You and I are paying for Trump’s fickle, nonsensical economic agenda.
6. “For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences …”
Think: Kilmar Abrego Garcia. An immigrant with legal protections in the U.S. who, along with dozens of others, was erroneously—with no due process—deported to a mega prison in El Salvador.
7. “For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments …”
Think: Legislating via executive order, while Article I of the Constitution bestows Congress with the power to make laws, appropriate monies, and declare war.
8. “He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us …”
Remember: Jan. 6, 2021. Incited by a sitting president unwilling to accept defeat; we watched and lived through an attack on our Capitol, where insurrectionists used Trump flags and the American flag to beat Capitol police officers and hunt down members of Congress.
I don’t know about you, but I hear an awful lot of rhyming. Yet in that rhyming, there is hope.
This country has been through extraordinarily tumultuous times—from our founding to today. Times like these call for courage and truth.
And while what happened two and half centuries ago on 6th and Chestnut streets Philadelphia may feel remote, it is relevant. Our uniquely American history is a living thing. And these grievances offer us a guidepost still.
Let us use this uniquely American holiday to build upon the vision of our Founding Fathers and leave a nation better for our children and grandchildren.
This country has suffered tyrants before. We are not as divided as we may appear. Because, to quote poet Seamus Heaney:
“History says, Don’t hope
On this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up,
And hope and history rhyme.”
Representative Madeleine Dean is a mother, grandmother, attorney, professor, former four-term member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and U.S. Representative for the 4th District of Pennsylvania.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
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