There are several words for the 250th anniversary of something; my personal favorite is semiquincentennial, or half of 500 years. Regardless of the phrase you choose, a quarter millennium ago our country was founded on the principles that all men have the inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Every man and woman, every creed, sect and persuasion shares these same rights. Whether you live on a farm or in a city, whether you believe in the same God as me or none at all — our country was built on the foundation that each of us has the same rights as any other. Imperfect words written by imperfect men share the perfect wish for freedom and flourishing.
While all three pillars — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — are central to our life in America and merit reflection, I wish to focus solely today on the pursuit of happiness. Thomas Jefferson used the phrase “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” based on two primary sources.
John Locke’s social contract theory posited — in what I am sure will be an offensively simple summary to the political scientists out there — that individuals gather together to form governments so that the greater whole can protect each individual’s rights to life, liberty and property. Francis Hutcheson added the pursuit of happiness to the list. Hutcheson defined alienable vs unalienable rights for Jefferson in a 1726 essay and highlighted the pursuit of happiness as an unalienable right even more extensively in his 1755 textbook on moral philosophy. Hutcheson, like Locke, was a central influence on Jefferson’s writing, and both of these influences refer at times to the wisdom of Aristotle.
Before we get to Aristotle, I want to take a brief look at happiness today. When we think of happiness, many things come to mind. Are you healthy? Are you wealthy? Do you have fulfilling relationships? Are you reaching your glorious purpose? We might think ourselves happy if we answer yes to some or all of these questions. When we think of the pursuit of happiness from a modern lens, it can come in the form of seeking modern happiness without being impeded by others, including our government.
Our Founding Fathers worked from a different definition of happiness. The Founding Fathers understood happiness the same way Aristotle described it in Nicomachean Ethics. Aristotle’s word for happiness was Eudimonia, which most closely translates to human flourishing. The big difference is that in order to flourish, one must live a virtuous life.
In the eyes of the Founding Fathers, all humans have the right to act in ways that will let us virtuously develop and demonstrate our talents and trades throughout all aspects of life. It’s not just cultivating courage or practicing patience, instead it’s living those virtues in every aspect of our lives. So, for the Founding Fathers and older philosophers, the pursuit of happiness was about being able to pursue a life of virtue and therefore flourish in that life.
Today, I care that John Locke’s “life, liberty, and property” became Jefferson’s “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” because of the reminder that virtue is central to the foundation of our country. I don’t have the right to stop you from flourishing, nor does your neighbor, the government, or any other individual or organization.
Of course we need a minimal amount of wealth and comfort to get there, but the end goal isn’t to get rich, it’s to cultivate virtue. Money can’t buy happiness, but living a virtuous life just might be able to get us there. As we reflect on the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I hope that we all take a moment to ask ourselves if we are pursuing happiness. Our inalienable rights were so important that some of my direct ancestors helped fight a war to protect them. Now, we have those rights — are we willing to care about them enough to live virtuous and happy lives?