With the nation’s 250th anniversary approaching, WCAX-TV  interviewed Craig Gallagher about the contemporary relevance of the Declaration of Independence — the founding document that proclaimed the separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain. 

Gallagher, an assistant professor of history at Colby-Sawyer, said that the document's authors, “who were effectively committing treason against the British Crown,” understood they were risking their lives for their cause. 

The Declaration of Independence, which includes the statement that “all men are created equal,” also contains more than two dozen specific grievances against the Crown. Those grievances, including taxation, lack of representation and the quartering of British troops, justified declaring independence from Britain and rejecting the monarchy, said Gallagher. 

Today, people at “No Kings” rallies continue to reject the notion of a monarchy. “If there is an argument that Thomas Jefferson is making in the declaration, (it) is that we don’t want a king, so in that sense, there is a kind of historic echo there,” Gallagher said. 

Along with the United States Constitution, the Declaration of Independence set the framework for universal self-evident truths, he said.  

Those truths are that all people are created equal; that they are endowed with inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; and that government authority requires popular consent. 

“This country promises you a kind of universal prosperity ... The idea of the American dream is that anybody can become anything,” Gallagher said. 

Last fall, Gallagher did a deep dive into Declaration of Independence  clauses on NHPR's award-winning podcast Civics 101. He also penned an essay, “America at 250," for the 2026 winter/spring Colby-Sawyer Magazine.