On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress, the legislative assembly common to the thirteen British colonies in North America, adopted the Declaration of Independence. The text, written by Thomas Jefferson, marks the birth of a new independent country, the United States, freed from British rule.
Two hundred and fifty years later, the commemorations of this founding act are controversial. Donald Trump is accused of exploiting the event, from organizing mixed martial arts fights at the White House for the 250th anniversary and his own birthday to holding a collective prayer intended to promote the white and Christian roots of the United States.
What do these commemorations represent for Donald Trump? For the American people? What does the Declaration of Independence mean today? La Croix correspondent in New York, Alexis Buisson interviews François Furstenberg, Franco-American historian at Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore) and author of works on the revolutionary period: In the Name of the Father: Washington’s Legacy, Slavery, and the Making of a Nation (2006), When the United States Spoke French (2014)…
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CREDITS:
Writing and production: Alexis Buisson. Supervision: Cécile Casciano, Élise Colette. Production: Célestine Albert-Steward. Mixing: Théo Boulenger. Music: Emmanuel Viau. Illustration: Olivier Balez.
In partnership with the Alliance – Columbia program and its partners (Sciences Po, Polytechnique, La Sorbonne), and French Morning, the first web magazine for French people in America.
