Report Card America: 250 Years Later

“In a few brief lines, penned near the start of our struggle to secure our independence, the Founders distilled their philosophy of government: equal liberty for all, defined by rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, secured by a government instituted for that purpose, its limited powers derived from the consent of the governed.” – A History of Repeated Injuries

On July 4, 2026, the United States of America will celebrate the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, establishing a new nation.  From 1607 to 1733, the 13 independent colonies created their own laws, their own governments, and their own identities.  While still tied to King George and Britain, taxation without representation would drive these independent states to leave the Crown once and for all. 

In the Cato Institute’s 2026 book, “A History of Repeated Injuries”, the Washington think tank reveals the country's greatest errors over its 250 years in existence, playing off those of King George’s “long train of abuses”.  Along with a list of grievances, Thomas Jefferson recounted in the Declaration of Independence: “The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of our absolute Tyranny over these States.” 

The Founders' goals for their new government were a legitimate and limited government, based on natural rights, allowing citizens to create their own path, free from government restraint.  Drawn from English Common Law based on customs and judicial precedent, the Founders advocated for voluntary associations over state coercion.  Thus, the Founders created a government using separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism.  An ideal government by rule of law, governed not by men, but by laws. 

John Adams called trial by jury the heart and lungs of liberty, advocating for an open and adversarial system, a check on state power.  The right to a jury trial was guaranteed in the Sixth and Seventh Amendments to the Constitution as a protection from the abuse of common laws.  Since the late 19^th century, however, plea bargaining has been instituted to save money.  Now coercion is causing defendants to accept a plea deal, even when they are innocent, with between 90 and 95 percent of all cases ending with plea bargaining.  This has led to overcriminalization from more prosecutions and mass incarcerations. 

While taxation without representation may have been the rallying cry for the Boston Tea Party, the real complaint for every tax rebellion was perceived inequalities in taxation.  They, instead, intended a system of equal treatment under the law.  While tariffs disproportionately hurt low-income workers, the 1913 federal income tax began with only the rich; it eventually expanded rapidly to all, before returning primarily to the rich.  Then, with overseas commerce a necessity of life in early America, England interfered by requiring that all provisions go through England.  A shift to protectionism and focus on national security. 

The Founders loved immigration since immigrants were not only essential to populate the new country but to provide the labor and skills necessary to build it.  They preferred free Immigration, that is, an open border to attract as many immigrants as possible.  Thomas Jefferson also called for an America that served as a sanctuary for those who sought happiness against misrule in their own country.  Our closed borders are a modern prejudice against new immigrants who are increasingly drawn to the welfare state, another overreach the Founders did not envision. 

With the Founders suspicious of large standing armies, they rejected the idea of permanent empire building and hoped to avoid intervention whenever possible.  This made war rare until the Federal Reserve gave the federal government the ability to print money without the taxpayers' approval to fund continuous wars.  Its effect was to bring about a surveillance state, destroy the domestic economy, and normalize emergency measures.  Overall, it weakened the ability of the people to restrain the domestic expansions of power.   

Executive Orders were limited by the Constitution, subject to judicial review and congressional oversight, as part of the separation of powers provision. The Founders believed that lawmaking belonged to Congress, except for directives to federal agencies that ensured the laws were faithfully executed.  Franklin D. Roosevelt had the highest number of executive orders, 3,728, thousands more than Harry Truman, who came in second.  His overuse of Executive Orders was simply another expansion of government under the New Deal. 

French novelist Alphonse Karr coined the phrase, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”  Change, instead, is often more superficial than substantive, with self-interest and human behavior making fundamental changes difficult.  In 1787, following the end of the Philadelphia Convention, a passerby asked Benjamin Franklin, "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?"  “A Republic, if you can keep it”, was his reply. 

So, did we?  The answer is obvious.  No, we didn’t.