Episode
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Watch America 250: The Breakthroughs That Built American Science — Part 1
In this chapter

The Declaration of Independence in 1776 is presented as the founding moment when the nation was established on Enlightenment principles, an ideal that, even though unevenly applied at the time, set a codified aspirational standard the hosts argue helped drive America's later scientific progress. The document is credited to Thomas Jefferson, described as an Enlightenment philosopher.

  1. 01

    The chapter notes the Declaration's ideals were not fully realized at signing, since it did not treat all men as equal and excluded women.

Transcript

133 words · auto-generated from the episode video

2:45>> Moving on to 1776 with the signing of the declaration of independence. Yes, this is the genesis, right? Coined by Thomas Jefferson who himself was um a philosopher of the enlightenment. What I really take away from this event and why it's on our list is because it was the genes it was the genesis of a nation that is established with enlightenment principles. You know, things like obviously when it started it wasn't fully enlightenment, right? Not all men were created equal. women were not in the same category and so on and so forth. But there was there there was a notion that we should codify it in a way

3:25that maybe goes to that ideal. And I think that that's fundamental to why America achieved so much scientific progress.

From the episode
  1. EP 46

    America 250: The Breakthroughs That Built American Science — Part 1

    Part one of our America 250 special traces the inventions, institutions, and scientific breakthroughs — from Franklin to Sputnik — that helped build the United States into a global scientific power.

    America 250: The Breakthroughs That Built American Science — Part 1

America 250History of Science