"The Declaration at 250," Sep. 2 (W) at 3:30pm

[Daniel Lake]

 *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.*

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, 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.

While no preparation is required or expected, if you're interested in the
Declaration and its political theory, in addition to the Declaration itself
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1788358473239398&usg=AOvVaw0M92ttLhVPGBZvBFCPKc7v>,
recommend resources include political theorist Danielle Allen's book *Our
Declaration
<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>*
 (click here
<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>for
a PDF excerpt), the Declaration Resources Project's collection of two dozen
scholars' one-page-each reflections
<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>
on the Declaration, Frederick Douglass' 1852 speech "What to the Slave is
the Fourth of July?
<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>",
and historian Robert G. Parkinson's op-ed
<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>
on the political exclusions of the Declaration.

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.

Please join us in the Moran Seminar Room of the Institute for Ethics in
Public Life (Hawkins 233) or on Zoom (see below).

Topic: The Declaration at 250: Political Theory
Time: Sep 2, 2026 03:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://plattsburgh.zoom.us/j/85190262933
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://plattsburgh.zoom.us/j/85190262933&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1788358473239398&usg=AOvVaw2ApVX7fEttus__jwfRmPAi>

Meeting ID: 851 9026 2933


-- 

*Daniel Lake*

(pronouns: he/him/his)

Professor of Political Science

Director, Institute for Ethics in Public Life

Hawkins 149A

101 Broad Street
<https://maps.google.com/?q=101+Broad+Street+Plattsburgh,+NY+12901&entry=gmail&source=g>

Plattsburgh, NY 12901
<https://maps.google.com/?q=101+Broad+Street+Plattsburgh,+NY+12901&entry=gmail&source=g>

(o) 518-564-5833 <(518)%5645833>

*plattsburgh.edu <http://plattsburgh.edu/>*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ls.plattsburgh.edu/pipermail/employee-digest/attachments/20260831/6257cfaa/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Flyer for the Declaration at 250.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 528783 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://ls.plattsburgh.edu/pipermail/employee-digest/attachments/20260831/6257cfaa/attachment.pdf>