250 Years Later: The Philosopher Who Made It Possible

The words are familiar — life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness — but do we really know what they meant to the men who wrote them? As America marks 250 years of independence, Dr. Katie Crawford Lackey sits down with Dr. Lynn Uzzell, Julia Van Geest, and T.C. Le, co-authors of the forthcoming book Locking and Unlocking the Declaration of Independence: An Introduction to Jefferson's Philosophy on Revolution, to trace the ideas behind America's founding document back to their source: 17th-century English philosopher John Locke. The conversation unpacks how Jefferson both borrowed from and departed from Locke on consent, revolution, property, and happiness — and why those differences still shape how we understand American democracy today.