What Did Our Founders Mean

by ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’?

By Dan Wrigley

“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...”

Thus began the document that shook the foundation of the British Empire and established death warrants on the colonial men who signed it. The document, of course, is The Declaration of Independence, wherein the colonists staked out their vision of humanity and rejected the oppression of a tyrannical King.

The famous words quoted above are so well recognized in this country, and even around the world, that they have sometimes been referred to as “American Scripture.” Indeed, ‘Life’, ‘Liberty’, and the ‘pursuit of Happiness’ are the very substance of human existence – an existence that the Founding Fathers of our country hoped to obtain for themselves and their posterity in pledging their lives, fortunes and sacred honor toward that end.

Yes, their brave stance against the mightiest nation in all the world was greatly more than a mere temper tantrum over a few petty grievances unjustly laid upon the colonists. The men and women of the British Colonies were wise enough to know that you don’t rattle the cage of a sleeping giant over spilled milk. They desired something much more significant than that. They yearned for Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, and they were willing to engage a rebellion with their Mother Country to obtain it.

So then, in setting about to transform the British Colonies into free and independent States, this conceptual triad of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness was the foundation upon which the Founder’s new society would be birthed.

Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness – sounds like some pretty hearty stuff. Well, at least the Life and Liberty part anyway. I mean, who would deny that Life and Liberty are the stuff that battles are fought over?

But, what about the pursuit of Happiness? What exactly did the Founders mean by that and why was it worth going to war over?

As stated, I would acknowledge that the average citizen would have a pretty good understanding about the first two legs of the triad -- Life and Liberty. Sadly however, there appears to be a great disconnect between the understanding of the Founders and many of our citizens today concerning this important third leg of the triad – the “pursuit of Happiness.” In order to truly understand this concept, it is necessary to examine it in the context of the time in which it was stated.

Christian Influence

To anyone who undertakes an honest examination of the founding of our Country, there is an insurmountable mountain of evidence which reveals that the lives of the men and women of that time were cultivated in a culture predominantly influenced by the Christian faith. Contrary to today’s misguided notion of “Separation of Church and State,” the common attitude of people living in the Colonial Era was that their belief in God and their faith in Christ should impact their everyday lives in free society. Just as their conception of Life and Liberty were formed by their faith and the Holy Scriptures, it is evident that their conception of the pursuit of Happiness was likewise formed.

But, thanks in part to the hostile agenda of the legal profession to eradicate the principles of the Christian faith from all aspects of public society, and in part to the ill effects of the economic prosperity we have experienced in the 232 years since the founding of our nation, the truth concerning the Founders’ conception of the pursuit of Happiness has been all but completely obscured.

Other than my everyday observation I haven’t gathered any hard evidence to support the point I am about to make, but it seems to me that most citizens today ascribe a selfish and temporal understanding to the concept of the pursuit of Happiness.

The world we live in today is vastly different from that in which the Founders lived. Insofar as the character of people is shaped by the environment in which they live, it may well be that citizens today are getting close to losing any identification at all with the character of the Founders of our country.

Sacrificial Devotion

While the circumstances in which the Founders lived were a time of great hope for a society imbued with their ideals of virtuous life, there were yet many circumstances of hardship and challenge which they had to overcome if their new nation was to succeed. As they stood on the brink of a “David and Goliath” battle to win their independence from tyranny, they knew that the result of their victory would require a lifestyle of sacrificial devotion to the common cause. They knew that the path before them wouldn’t be easy, but they were prepared for it.

The colonists were prepared in that they had been brought up in a culture in which biblical principles and precepts were the foundation of all knowledge and instruction. With so many of these principles and precepts bearing some reflection of sacrificial devotion, it is easy to understand how this critical characteristic became an inherent virtue in the lives of the Founders.

In saying that sacrificial devotion was essential to the success of the new country, I do not mean to suggest that it was necessary for the citizens to transfer all of their wealth to the State for the benefit of everyone else. What I do mean is that families living during the Colonial Era understood that government begins at home and that virtuous life required more than serving their own selfish desires.

A laundry list of good deeds could easily be presented itemizing various ways in which sacrificial devotion manifested itself in the lives of the colonists. Some might argue that good deeds can flow from sources other than sacrificial devotion, and they would be correct. But, it is widely recognized as true that only good deeds can flow from sacrificial devotion. You see, the reason America succeeded isn’t because of the good deeds of the Founders, but rather because of the attitude they developed from their biblical knowledge and instruction.

It was that same attitude that had bred the character which enabled America’s ragtag militia to prevail in battle against the world’s greatest army of that time. Just as the American militia prevailed through the strength that came from their biblical faith, so too did that faith in the hearts of the people build in them a character of sacrificial living for building a society.

The Pursuit of Happiness

In striving to understand what the Founders conceived the pursuit of Happiness to be, it is evident that whatever it was, belief in God, biblical faith, and a lifestyle built upon that were a part of it. While census data, polling, and other data sources would reveal that eighty percent or more of Americans today believe in God, it could hardly be said that we are of the same character today as those who founded our country.

In large part, Americans today don’t have time for God in their busy schedules; no time to spend studying His Word or striving to conform their lives to it. One of the most preeminent principles in the heritage of the Christian faith is the Sabbath Day. The Sabbath is a preeminent principle because it is a time set apart by God solely for devotion to Him. It is a full twenty-four hour day in which man is to worship Him and find rest.

Through the centuries since the crucifixion of Christ, the preeminent principle of the Sabbath was somehow transformed into its modern counterpart of “going to church on Sunday.” For a period of many years after the American Revolution, Christians maintained Sunday as a full day of devotion to God. But somewhere toward the middle of the last century, the Sunday Blue Laws, which honored the principle of the Sabbath by prohibiting most commercial activity on Sunday, fell (along with many other things) to the legal agenda of eradicating God from society.

Today, Sunday has become filled with all sorts of entertainment and recreational activities. It is no longer a day solely devoted to the worship of God and His rest. Whereas the Founders and their posterity found happiness in a life devoted to learning and understanding who they were as His creation, Americans today seek to find their happiness in anything but Him.

It seems that there is an ever increasing supply of amusements and entertainment venues to fill up our lives with distractions that take away from our devotion to God. And yet, as much as Americans may seem to enjoy these things and find happiness in them, they inevitably end up feeling unsatisfied with life after their amusement has faded away.

As the Founders believed, true happiness can only be found in understanding that we are the creation of God and were created for a life of devotion and service to Him. The Declaration they drafted acknowledged God as their Creator. They understood that they were to serve the Lord with gladness as admonished in Psalm 100, and walk with Him to take dominion of the Earth as stated in the first chapter of the Bible.

Today we take for granted many of the things that the Bible reveals will lead us to happiness. Things such as being part of a family. At the beginning of creation, God knew that it was not good for man to live alone and so created a wife for him. Solomon, reputed to be the wisest man who ever lived, stated that man’s portion in this life was to live joyfully with the wife whom he loves all the days of his life (Eccl. 9:9). And, what would be family without children? Psalm 127 tells us that children are a heritage to the Lord and the fruit of the womb is man’s reward. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.

We may often take for granted as well the work that we do with the talents that God has given us. Again, Solomon has shared his wisdom with us concerning this matter in saying that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while men live (Eccl. 3:12). Psalm 112 tells us blessed is the man that fears the Lord, that delights greatly in His commandments. Psalm 128 gives the assurance that everyone who fears the Lord and walks in His ways shall be blessed in that he shall eat the labor of his hands: happy shall he be, and it shall be well with him. And, Psalm 1 declares that he whose delight is in the law of the Lord shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth fruit, and whatsoever he does shall prosper.

In addition to finding happiness in these most basic of things, there are ample messages in the Bible which warn us that happiness will not be found in money or the things it can buy. Beginning with the wisdom of Solomon again, he tells us that selfishly accumulating riches is a sore evil and that they will perish by evil travail to the hurt of he who owns them (Eccl. 5:13,14). And, the Apostle Paul can be credited with that famous bit of wisdom that the love of money is a root of all evil and instead of trying to find happiness in it, that godliness with contentment is great gain.

Due to their biblical foundation in knowledge and faith, the Founders well understood the wisdom that happiness would not arise from selfish interests and pursuits, but instead from a life of devotion to their Creator. Knowing their foundation in Scripture, we can trust that they were well familiar with Proverbs 3:13-18, which follows in verbatim from the King James Version, and which I believe will provide a better summary of the meaning of the pursuit of Happiness than any explanation I might devise on my own:

“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.”

Dan Wrigley is a licensed attorney at law in Illinois and Missouri. Besides practicing law, Dan applies his legal knowledge to promote the reconstruction and preservation of the Christian culture in America and to proclaim the Gospel of Christ.  Dan can be reached via e-mail at dewuntoothers@sbcglobal.net or by calling (618) 346-4707.