Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos
The Declaration of Independence's 'forcing mechanism'
Posted
June 27, 2026
Views
5,967
Likes
483
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June 27, 2026
5,967
483
8.09%
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1:27Now PlayingTwo hundred and fifty years ago, the Declaration of Independence stated that “all men are created equal.”
“You realize it doesn't really describe the way it was in 1776, but you think of it as a forcing mechanism,” author Walter Isaacson said.
He later called the sentence something "that keeps pushing us forward, even though our progress comes in fits and starts.”
Ahead of America's 250th anniversary, Judy Woodruff spoke with Isaacson about the enduring power of the document’s words and his new book, "The Greatest Sentence Ever Written."
Watch part of her conversation with Isaacson, which is part of her recent Crossroads: America at 250 report.
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