FORUM: 1776. Views from the British World. Ambivalent Independence: The US Declaration in Hemispheric Perspective

Abstract

Timed to coincide with the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence that launched a revolution that created the United States of America, this series of articles complicates traditional narratives of this transformative event by situating it in a larger British world context. This article considers the significance of the US Declaration of Independence in the western hemisphere. It argues first that the influence of the Declaration was limited in an era we call “the age of imperial fracture.” Second, it contends that the former colonies that achieved independence, including the United States, did not experience a sharp break with the past. Instead, they grappled with the legacies of colonialism and imperial ambitions. Throughout the western hemisphere, independence triggered new waves of contestation and conflict and gave rise to new forms of imperialism.