From the campus of Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, this is the radio-free

Hillsdale Hour, bringing the activity and education of the college to listeners across the country.

Here's your host, Scott Bertram.

Hello again, everybody, and welcome in to a special Independence Day edition of the Radio Free Hillsdale Hour.

On this episode, we'll talk with Matt Spaulding, Vice President of Washington Operations

and dean of the Van Andal School of Government at Hillsdale College on the Declaration and its

relevance today. Paul Ray from Hillsdale's History the Declaration and its relevance today.

Paul Ray from Hillsdale's History Department talks to us about the American founding,

and we'll hear from a recent Hillsdale lecture by noted author and national radio host Dennis Prager on American greatness and American culture.

First, we talk with Dr. Matt Spalding, Vice President of Washington Operations, and

Dean of the Van Andal School of Government at Hillsdale in D.C. Dr. Spalding, thanks for joining us.

It's great to be with you, Scott. We are speaking on this special Independence Day episode,

plenty of fireworks, perhaps even some parade still out there despite COVID-19.

But what we're celebrating really is, of course, the birth of our country.

And I ask you, where does that really begin?

Well, that's a great question in itself.

And I would actually back up even slightly from that and remind people how unusual it is

that this country actually has a birthday you know for you know uh think of germany or

france or or many of the region potentially area of the country in the world when we ask when

did that country begin it's actually hard from to pinpoint a specific date.

Germany began in the forest somewhere, the dark forest of Germany somewhere.

France, when did England begin, right? But what's interesting by this country, which

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