Opinion: Literary Guide for the 250th Birthday of the U.S.

As we begin the new year, Sampan will run an occasional series of pieces reflecting on literature that has influenced who we were, who we are now, and who we might become as Americans. On July 4, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s founding.

For the purposes of this series, the notion of “literature” include foundational political texts, those that established who we would be as a nation, and those that serve to challenge what we have become. As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in an October 1874 journal entry: “Some books leave us free and some books make us free.”

The Penguin Guide To The United States Constitution: A Fully Annotated Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and Amendments, and Selections from the Federalist Papers- edited by Richard Beeman

Texts don’t come more foundational than this pocket-sized paperback from 2010 that provides context to the documents that served as the basis for our nation as we emerged into the world as it was in 1776. Consider the Declaration of Independence – the whispers of the dream that for many has yet to bear fruit. It’s still breathtaking how carefully the founders worded the opening lines of the second paragraph. Forget the lie that “all men are created equal” in 1776. The nation had a lot of growing to do. It’s the rest of the line that’s still difficult for some to understand:

“...they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Two points here are clearly evident. There was nothing in the text about a singular Creator, a definitive Universal Father. We had a choice to recognize our divine origin or not. Of the three rights, as abstract as they are, it’s the last one that remains misunderstood. Come to this country and pursue your dreams. Failure or success is solely dependent on the effort expended.

By the end of the Declaration, Beeman notes very clearly that the Nation we intended to form through this document was not only going to stand strong as a United Force (at that time 13 colonies soon to become states) but we would “...also find ways in which those independent states could unite in common cause. The Declaration ends with the stirring promise “...to each other, our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honour,” and the power of this idealism would be put to countless tests over the next 250 years: slavery, Civil War, and an institutionalized racism we’re still trying to defeat.

Thomas Jefferson was the architect of the Declaration, a brilliant lawyer and tactician who spoke in lofty terms about unity and brotherhood while helping to maintain and sustain the status quo. All men were not created equal, but the dream of unity first bore fruit with the Declaration. The majority of it, after the first two paragraphs, was listing of Grievances against King George. In that respect it was more strident than poetic. Beeman includes a particularly powerful grievance against the king from an early draft that Jefferson excised in the final version but it’s worth considering here:

“He has waged a cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life & liberty, in the person of a distant people who never offended him…”

Beeman notes something else about Jefferson and his style that bears consideration:

“Jefferson’s tone grows steadily more belligerent…The grievances laid out…are not merely constitutional; they are also intensely personal.”

If the Declaration of Independence was equal parts idealistic and intensely personal, the Constitution could be seen as aspirational. It is here that we first read of “domestic tranquility,” “general Welfare,” and the “Blessings of Liberty.” Article I Section I establishes the location of Legislative powers. It would rest in Congress, which would consist of The House of Representatives and Senate. Very carefully and methodically, the Constitution then lays out the specifics regarding the powers of the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of government. The identification and separation of powers is clearly delineated in such a way as to leave nothing uncertain. What individual states can or cannot do is clearly spelled out. However, the “implied powers” of the Executive branch have been a bone of contention for at least the past quarter century, from the 2001 Patriot Act limiting individual rights to the innumerable transgressions of the current President of the United States.

High Crimes and Misdemeanors, as spelled out in Article II Section IV, have always been the charges along with treason and bribery. Beeman notes that this was both “remarkably simple and maddeningly vague.” The elected President and all other officers in the Executive branch could be removed if found guilty of these serious charges, but not if they were simply unpopular. ... “Malfeasance” (simple mistakes and a pattern of wrongdoing) was replaced with “Misdemeanors,” a more legally binding term. Regardless of the verbiage, the idea remains strong. Nevertheless, it was indicative of an imperfect document made by and for flawed people.

“It was a term that left no one wholly satisfied,” Beeman writes, “and it has caused considerable confusion…in which impeachment proceedings against a president have been initiated.”

The 27 Amendments to the Constitution (The Bill of Rights is the First 10) are proof that it is indeed a living document, something both fragile and invincible. The First Amendment, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech…” is incredible in its expansive scope and the likelihood of its being misunderstood. Is it freedom from religion or of religion? Is the “wall of separation” between church and state impenetrable? Beeson notes how the initial omission of the Bill of Rights was “...both a tactical and strategical error.” They may be a flawed and flexible collection of rights, but that seems to be a proper reflection of the people they represent.

As of this writing, in very early January 2026, the United States has invaded Venezuela, taking its president and first lady into custody. The U.S. President vows the United States will “run Venezuela and fix oil infrastructure.” Many uncertainties remain. The only real certainty is the need to be informed and prepared. Foundational texts like The Penguin Guide to The United States Constitution: A Fully Annotated Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and Amendments, and Selections from the Federalist Papers are both compelling and essential. It’s only when we understand where we’ve been and how we originated that we can understand where we could or should be going.