Friday will be the 249th anniversary of the Continental Congress鈥檚 adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Plans are already being made for the sesquicentennial next year.
The signers were taking a great risk declaring independence from Britain. According to a statement attributed to Benjamin Franklin at the signing, he warned: 鈥淲e must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.鈥
The first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence explains that 鈥渁 decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they [the signatories] should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.鈥 To justify independence, this historic document lists 27 specifics of King George III鈥檚 鈥渉istory of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.鈥
The most memorable language in the Declaration of Independence, though, is this: 鈥淲e hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.鈥
That paragraph continues: 鈥淭hat to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.鈥
Life and liberty are self-explanatory, but happiness? What did the Founding Fathers mean by that?
They did not mean 鈥渉appiness鈥 as in our common understanding: enjoying an ephemeral pleasant and contented mental state. When Thomas Jefferson included 鈥減ursuit of Happiness,鈥 he intended a far more profound meaning, as did the other representatives at the Continental Congress.
In drafting the Declaration of Independence, the founders were influenced by ancient Greek and Roman moral and political philosophy and were familiar with the concept of eudaimonia. Unlike the fleeting hedonistic pleasure of happiness, eudaimonia is the highest good humans can strive for by living virtuously with moral excellence. It means practicing virtues such as moderation, kindness, wisdom, good humor and courage.
鈥淓udaimonia鈥 is based on two Greek words: 鈥渆u,鈥 good, and 鈥渄aimon,鈥 genius, guiding spirit. 鈥淓u鈥 is in such words as eulogy, euphemism, euphony, euphonium, eucharist, eucalyptus and, yes, eugenics. 鈥淒aimon,鈥 spirit, is the source of our word demon for an evil spirit.
Although Jefferson wrote 鈥渢he pursuit of Happiness,鈥 he and the other founders were referring to eudaimonia. As John Adams explained in April 1776 in 鈥淭houghts on Government鈥: 鈥淭he form of government, which communicates ease, comfort, security, or in one word happiness to the greatest number of people, and in the greatest degree, is the best. All inquirers after truth, ancient and modern, pagan and Christian, have declared that the happiness of man, as well as his dignity, consists in virtue.鈥
The founders put their lives at risk so that future generations could pursue 鈥渉appiness,鈥 by which they meant eudaimonia. As we celebrate this 249th anniversary 鈥 and, a year from now, the sesquicentennial 鈥 let us all pursue the virtuous life the founders had in mind.