“Exceedingly restful.”

Nothing demonstrates the power of Coolidge more than the speech the President gave on July 5, 1926 to mark the 150th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence. In the speech, titled “The inspiration of the Declaration of Independence” and delivered at Philadelphia, Coolidge made a categorical statement. “About the Declaration,” Coolidge said, “there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. […] If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final.”

Controversial today might be Coolidge’s emphasis on the necessity of faith — over materialism, and even over pragmatism. The Declaration, he said, “is the product of the spiritual insight of the people. We live in an age of science and of abounding accumulation of material things. These did not create our Declaration. Our Declaration created them.”

Join us this Thursday, June 25, at 12:00 PM Eastern for a Coolidge Virtual Event. We will be joined by Professor Thomas Tacoma who will be interviewed by Gov. Jim Douglas. Professor Tacoma will also take questions from the audience. To register for this event, please email C.C. Borzilleri (cborzilleri@coolidgefoundation.org) to receive the log-in information.

There’s no better way to prepare for the Fourth of July than to contemplate Coolidge’s fabulous “Inspiration of the Declaration” speech. We hope you’ll join us!