The summer season is always so special for us, not only because we love summer, and the slower pace that comes with it, but also because of what

this season represents. My family and I will be camping this weekend, and while we're roasting

marshmallows and lighting sparklers, we won't forget the miracle that allows us to take pause

around the 4th of July every year,

the Declaration of Independence.

We wanted to play an interview conducted last year featuring well-known historian and scholar,

Dr. Alan Gelzo. It encapsulates why Independence Day is so important and gives meaningful

context into the complexity and deliberation.

I suggest listening to it first and then reading the declaration in full.

But before the interview starts, we just wanted to say that we hope you're having an awesome

summer with your friends and family, and we hope that

you're able to take some time to reflect on the greatness of this nation.

And I'll be back next week with a brand new episode. But until then, roll it, John Pop.

Dr. Gelsa, the drafting of the Declaration of Independence is a remarkable story. And what the declaration has produced is even more remarkable.

Can you set the stage for us in terms of the buildup and getting to the point of actually declaring independence?

Well, understand what the American Revolution was about

and where it was about in 1775 and 1776,

because that was when the first hostilities

between the Army of the British Empire

and the commissioned forces of the Continental Army under

George Washington were having their first collisions. What was this all in motion towards?

That was the real question. And that question came down to two possibilities. The colonies

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