The Importance of the Fourth of July, According to John Quincy Adams

In recent weeks, we have witnessed the so-called “No Kings Day” on June 14. The original “No Kings Day,” however, is July 4. The Fourth of July marks the anniversary of America’s independence from England. For decades, American presidents, statesman, elected officials, and citizens celebrated the Fourth by delivering speeches celebrating the Declaration of Independence. For John Quincy Adams, the meaning of our independence is best expressed in the Declaration, as it embodies the principles of liberty, self-governance, and natural rights.

As Adams points out in several speeches delivered on the Fourth of July, this anniversary is an occasion for American citizens to deepen their understanding of their independence and the principles of the republic by reflecting on the enduring principles that inform our way of life. In his speeches delivered on July 4, 1821, and July 4, 1837, and in his Thoughts on Government, Adams offers profound reflections on the importance of the Declaration, its meaning, and significance. For Adams, the Fourth of July is not merely a celebration of a historical event, or a reminder of an earlier generation’s grievances against King George III, but a perennial reaffirmation of the Declaration’s enduring principles, which define the purpose of government and the meaning of happiness.

For John Quincy Adams, the Fourth of July is a sacred commemoration of the Declaration of Independence, which he views as a transformative act of the sovereignty of a people and a universal proclamation of natural rights. In his 1837 speech in Newburyport, Mass., Adams stresses the day’s enduring importance, asking his audience, “Why is it, Friends and Fellow Citizens, that you are here assembled? . . . Why is it that, next to the birth-day of the Saviour of the World, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day, the fourth day of July?” For Adams, the Fourth of July is celebrated not merely because of the Revolutionary War’s victory but because “the Declaration of Independence had abolished the government of the thirteen British Colonies in North America. A new government was to be instituted in its stead.” This act of dissolving colonial rule and establishing a free and independent nation marks the day as a cornerstone of American identity and politics. It is to be counted among the most sacred of days in America’s history.

Similarly, in his 1821 speech to the U.S. House of Representatives, Adams extends the Fourth of July’s significance beyond national borders and portrays it as a universal beacon of liberty. He declares, “America, with the same voice which spoke herself into existence as a nation, proclaimed to mankind the inextinguishable rights of human nature, and the only lawful foundations of government.” The Fourth of July, therefore, is a celebration of America’s role in articulating universal principles — life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — that resonate with all humanity. Adams sees the day as a moment to reflect on these principles and America’s responsibility to embody them.

Central to Adams’s philosophy is his interpretation of “happiness” as articulated in the Declaration of Independence, where it is listed as an inalienable right alongside life and liberty. Some conservative critics of the Declaration often claim that the “pursuit of happiness” is some indeterminate and vague notion lacking a definitive meaning, suggesting, therefore, that it may be grounded on relativism. Nothing could be further from the truth. In his Thoughts on Government, Adams elaborates on and defines happiness as the pursuit of moral virtue, tied to the exercise of individual agency within a free society. Indeed, as he puts it, “All sober enquiries after truth, ancient and modern, Pagan and Christian, have declared that the happiness of man, as well as his dignity consists in virtue.” The pursuit of happiness, in other words, is the natural right to pursue moral excellence, which is to say, self-government, for moral virtue is ruling over oneself, and is enabled by the protection of our natural rights.

As Adams notes, the Declaration implies, “Governments are instituted to protect the conditions under which individuals can seek their own happiness, not to define or provide it.” In other words, government’s role is not to dictate happiness but to create a framework of laws and protections that enable individuals to exercise their rights freely. Happiness, for Adams, is the ability to live according to one’s reason, conscience, and aspirations, free from arbitrary restraint. This is the primary reason why happiness is inscribed in the Declaration of Independence. A person tyrannized by his or her appetites is hardly a free person fit for self-government. In the 1821 speech, Adams suggests that happiness flourishes in a society where individuals are free to act within this framework of justice and mutual respect toward each other’s rights. Similarly, in the 1837 speech, happiness is tied to the self-governance enabled by the Declaration, which freed Americans from British oppression and allowed them to establish a government reflective of their own intelligence and will.

By creating a nation where the people’s sovereignty ensures liberty, the Declaration secures the conditions for individuals to pursue happiness, making the Fourth of July a celebration of this freedom. As we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of our nation, we ought to take a break from social media and entertainment and revisit the Declaration of Independence, read it out loud, discuss it, and reflect upon on it. We can draw inspiration from the many speeches on it from John Quincy Adams to Abraham Lincoln, and in doing so we join a noble tradition steeped in political philosophy, history, and religion.

Reprinted with permission from National Review by Khalil M. Habib.

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.