Dwight T. Pitcaithley, NPS Historian

In 1776 this nation embarked on a great experiment, an experiment based on the self evident truth that "all men are created equal." It has not been a steady progression, there have been many bumps in the road, but along the way this country's sense of equality and liberty and justice have been expanded to include a broad range of people, people not originally envisioned in that original Declaration of Independence. The past, like the present, was filled with choices. We are not accountable for decisions made by those who came before. We do have a responsibility to study those decisions and learn from them, to understand them in context of those times, and to apply the lessons learned to better nurture this experiment in democracy we call the United States.

 

Dwight T. Pitcaithley
NPS Historian 2001