Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: 250 Years of the Declaration of Independence cover art

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: 250 Years of the Declaration of Independence

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: 250 Years of the Declaration of Independence

By: Andrew Sola and Amerikazentrum-Hamburg
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 Learn more about the Declaration of Independence for the 250-year anniversary with this interdisciplinary podcast, featuring experts from the USA and around the world. The series is produced and hosted by Dr. Andrew Sola and the Amerikazentrum, Hamburg.Andrew Sola & Amerikazentrum Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • Privateering, Boycotts, and Slavery in the Declaration of Independence

    Privateering, Boycotts, and Slavery in the Declaration of Independence
    Feb 5 2026
    "He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people." In this episode, we explore Grievance #24 in the Declaration of Independence, which condemns the British practice of privateering amongst other things. Topics include the following: -the destruction of Norfolk and Falmouth--the towns alluded to in Grievance #24 -the legal differences between official action by navies and semi-official actions by privateers -the massacre of enslaved people on the Zong (aka the Zorg) -the diversity of seafarers in the 18th century -the Continental Association of 1774, signed by all of the original 13 Colonies except for Georgia, which boycotted goods from Britain and British colonies that did not join -the politics and practicalities of boycotts on products and shipping, including the repackaging of goods to falsify their origins -the origins of the first American privateers and the Continental Navy as well as the individual State navies -privateering, slavery, and the slave trade
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    58 mins
  • Impressment and the Declaration of Independence

    Impressment and the Declaration of Independence
    Jan 22 2026
    "He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands." Today we explore Grievance #26 in the Declaration of Independence, which protested against the Royal Navy practice of impressment, the forced conscription of sailors into naval service. Topics include the following: -a description of the life of seafarers in the 18th century -a detailed overview of the British practice of impressment -strategies for avoiding impressment both on land and at sea -reasons men chose to be sailors in the first place -the intermingling of formal naval service, piracy, privateering, and impressment -desertion rates and reasons for desertion -the strange legal status of captured American sailors who were liable to be impressed because they were still regarded as rebellious subjects rather than enemy prisoners of war, who could not be impressed -the use of impressment by the Continental Navy as well as individual State navies -impressment in the context of African American history -the generosity and empathy that sailors of all sides treated other members of the brotherhood of the sea -the British decision in 1782 to change the legal status of American sailors in 1782, treating them as foreign prisoners of war rather than British subjects who could be impressed -the ramifications of independence for American ships, merchants, and seafarers
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    58 mins
  • Why Did Colonial Americans Oppose Standing Armies in Their Cities?

    Why Did Colonial Americans Oppose Standing Armies in Their Cities?
    Jan 8 2026
    "He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures." In today's episode, we explore Grievance #11 in the Declaration of Independence, which condemns the deployment of British regular troops in American towns and cities during peacetime. Topics include: -the long British tradition disapproving of standing armies on British soil -the long British tradition of allowing for political protest and dissent without fear of punishment by a standing army -the cooperation between the British Army and Colonial militias during the 7 Years' War -the reasons why King George deemed it necessary to station 10,000 British troops in the North American colonies after the end of the 7 Years' War, namely to manage the conflicts between eager colonists who wanted to expand westward and native peoples who wanted to hold the line -the1768 riots in Boston after the seizure of John Hancock's ship, The Liberty, an event which then prompted the deployment of British troops -the Boston Tea Party of 1773 and the British response to it: the declaration of martial law in 1774 followed by the Coercive Acts aka the Intolerable Acts -an explanation of the phrase "without the consent of our legislatures," which highlights both the role of colonial militias for self-defence and also the importance of the norma of legislative approval for any deployment of troops in the Colonies Prof. Johnson's book can be found here: [Occupied America: British Military Rule and the Experience of Revolution](https://www.pennpress.org/9780812252545/occupied-america/) The cover image is a portrait of Gen. Thomas Gage, commander of British troops in North America until 1775.
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    57 mins
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