“1776 people” for the most part, were the same as 1780 or 1787 people. What they thought in 1776 inspired what they did later.
The men who signed the Declaration of Indpendence were thinking of their own freedom, but they recognized that the Declaration asserted general principles that could be applied in other cases. The Declaration made assertions that weren’t confined to the rights of Englishmen or White English-speaking colonists. The Declaration set no limits or restrictions on its principles.
And yet perhaps there were limits and restrictions. The Founders, 1776 people, weren’t keen on attempts to break up the republic they established. Jefferson, very much a 1776 person, didn’t think much of attempts by Aaron Burr to break off part of the country for Burr’s own rule.
Later. In 1776 they were only concerned with their own freedom.
The Founders, 1776 people, weren’t keen on attempts to break up the republic they established. Jefferson, very much a 1776 person, didn’t think much of attempts by Aaron Burr to break off part of the country for Burr’s own rule.
Nobody wants to see the work they produced collapse before their eyes.
But they either believed in the principle of self determination, or they were just pretending to believe in it for political gain.
I like to think they really believed in the principle of self determination.