David Blight, along with Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter S. Onuf, will participate in "Holding These Truths: A Panel Discussion about the Declaration of Independence" at Antiquarian Hall, 185 Salisbury Street, Worcester, MA 01609 on Thursday, May 31st at 7:00pm. This panel presentation is part of "Declaring Independence: Then and Now," a region-wide commemoration and exploration of the Declaration of Independence presented by Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area and the American Antiquarian Society.

America’s foundational text famously declares: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” But what did these concepts mean to the people living at the time they were first written? How have they been understood over the centuries since? And today, do we still see these as “self-evident truths?” If so, have we realized the full potential of their promise? This panel discussion between these three esteemed historians and the audience will address these and other questions about the document and ideas that gave birth to our nation.

Fore more information: http://www.americanantiquarian.org/public-program-discussion-declaration-independence