At moments of institutional conflict and uncertainty, Americans naturally turn to the Constitution. But at times of anger, division and national self-doubt, the best American leaders have helped us turn to a different document: the Declaration of Independence. That few seem to be doing so now — in our season of division and doubt — is another sign that we lack real leaders.

The Declaration is an odd source of national pride since it can be properly read only in a spirit of humility. It refers to a transcendent order of justice and human dignity that existed prior to the nation — and that exposed the nation’s horrifying hypocrisies. (“How is it,” taunted Samuel Johnson, “that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of Negroes?”) “We hold these truths” makes us vulnerable to the judgment of those truths.

American independence, of course, involved more than humility. It was an act of defiance rooted in an arm-long list of grievances. In Worcester, Mass., after the Declaration was signed, patriots drank to the toast: “Perpetual itching without the benefit of scratching to the enemies of America.”

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