The Declaration of Independence, in which the American colonists declared their secession from the British empire, was “reinterpreted” for Americans, beginning with Lincoln, as an anti-secession document. The main ruse has always been to focus exclusively on the “all men are created equal” phrase (which Lincoln did not believe in, of course) at the exclusion of the rest of the Declaration. The last paragraph of the Declaration is arguably the most important. It speaks of “the united States of America” with a small “u” in “united,” clearly signifying that the signatories of the document considered themselves to be citizens of … Continue reading America’s Forgotten Declaration