<div dir="ltr"><div><div style="font-family:trebuchet ms,sans-serif;font-size:small" class="gmail_default">
<font size="2"><span><b><span><span>The Institute for Ethics in Public
Life invites you to join us for "The Declaration at 250: The
Declaration's Political Theory and Contentious Legacy" on Wednesday,
September 2, at 3:30pm (in person and on Zoom) with special guest Dr.
John McMahon, Assoc. Prof. of Political Science.</span></span></b><br> <br></span></font><div style="margin-left:40px"><font size="2"><span>Our
first Institute event commemorates the 250th anniversary of the
Declaration of Independence, by discussing the political ideas that
shaped its drafting. Concepts such as natural rights, equality, and the
right to resist despotism were being debated at the time of its
drafting, and those theoretical disputes had very real consequences for
the Declaration. Meanwhile<span>, the co-existence of those ideas
alongside colonialism and the slave trade makes the legacy of the
Declaration more fraught -- a complexity that has led contentious
movements throughout American history to return to and refashion the
meaning of this founding document. </span></span></font><br><font size="2"><span><span></span></span></font><br><font size="2"><span>While no
preparation is required or expected, if you're interested in the
Declaration and its political theory, in addition to the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1788358473239398&usg=AOvVaw0M92ttLhVPGBZvBFCPKc7v" target="_blank">Declaration itself</a>, recommend resources include political theorist Danielle Allen's book <i><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://books.google.com/books?id%3DE7JbAwAAQBAJ%26source%3Dgbs_navlinks_s&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1788358473239398&usg=AOvVaw0VlPt0Z06bGWLRITwquLHw" target="_blank">Our Declaration</a></i> (<a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://drive.google.com/file/d/14Ou-QZ_fFCd1-IsX5VdcQJhuoTxpl3Eu/view?usp%3Dsharing&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1788358473239398&usg=AOvVaw1nTrOn27IFgitcm_bkSJcD" target="_blank">click here </a>for a PDF excerpt), the Declaration Resources Project's <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://declaration.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum10521/files/declaration/files/fresh_takes.pdf&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1788358473239398&usg=AOvVaw1BwqxphtYoJwJFFe5BFx-m" target="_blank">collection of two dozen scholars' one-page-each reflections</a> on the Declaration, Frederick Douglass' 1852 speech "<a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/what-to-the-slave-is-the-fourth-of-july-2/&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1788358473239398&usg=AOvVaw3WJA4tEUcaoggQrwCaUIqm" target="_blank">What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?</a>", and historian Robert G. Parkinson's <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/04/opinion/did-a-fear-of-slave-revolts-drive-american-independence.html?unlocked_article_code%3D1.5VA.2YPE.Z9OK4T2H6MZV%26smid%3Durl-share&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1788358473239398&usg=AOvVaw2zWMRRgA00GMRAqMLU0y_B" target="_blank">op-ed</a> on the political exclusions of the Declaration.</span></font><br><font size="2"><span> </span></font><br><font size="2"><span>Dr.
John McMahon, Associate Professor of Political Science, is a political
theorist. He teaches a variety of courses that look at fundamental
questions of political life including Feminist Political Thought,
African-American Political Thought, and Justice and Politics. He also
serves as Co-Director of Communications and Member of
the Governance Committee of the Association for Political
Theory, an international organization that
seeks to advance scholarly interaction, collaboration, and debate
among political theorists; to support teaching and
research in political theory; to organize
conferences; and to promote political theory in the academy. </span></font><br><font size="2"><span> </span></font><br><font size="2"><span>Please join us in the Moran Seminar Room of the Institute for Ethics in Public Life (Hawkins 233) or on Zoom (see below).</span></font><br><font size="2"><span> </span></font><br><font size="2"><span>Topic: The Declaration at 250: Political Theory</span></font><br><font size="2"><span>Time: Sep 2, 2026 03:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)</span></font><br><font size="2"><span>Join Zoom Meeting</span></font><br><font size="2"><span><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://plattsburgh.zoom.us/j/85190262933&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1788358473239398&usg=AOvVaw2ApVX7fEttus__jwfRmPAi" target="_blank">https://plattsburgh.zoom.us/j/85190262933</a></span></font><br><font size="2"><span></span></font><br><font size="2"><span>Meeting ID: 851 9026 2933</span></font>
</div>
</div></div><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><b><font size="2">Daniel Lake</font></b></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2">(pronouns: he/him/his)<br></font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2">Professor of Political Science</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2">Director, Institute for Ethics in Public Life<br></font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2">Hawkins 149A</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2"><a href="https://maps.google.com/?q=101+Broad+Street+Plattsburgh,+NY+12901&entry=gmail&source=g" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">101 Broad Street</a></font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2"><a href="https://maps.google.com/?q=101+Broad+Street+Plattsburgh,+NY+12901&entry=gmail&source=g" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">Plattsburgh, NY 12901</a></font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2">(o) <a href="tel:(518)%5645833" value="+15185642217" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">518-564-5833</a></font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><b><font size="2"><a href="http://plattsburgh.edu/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">plattsburgh.edu</a></font></b><br></p></div><div dir="ltr"><img src="https://web.plattsburgh.edu/files/914/images/SUNY-Plattsburgh-Email-Logo-2018.jpg"><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>