Happy Holiday! Nellie is busy celebrating America’s 249th birthday, but don’t worry: TGIF will be back in your inbox next Friday. In honor of Independence Day, we’re bringing you the latest episode of Breaking History, the podcast where Eli Lake goes back in time in order to make sense of the present. To mark July 4, we’re looking back at the document that began the remarkable experiment of this nation: the Declaration of Independence. You can listen to the episode, which features voices from the past and present, here:

America Has Always Been a Dangerous Idea The Free Press Episode

And if you’re a paying subscriber, scroll down to read Eli’s brilliant companion essay, which illuminates why America has always been a dangerous idea.

Last month there was a spate of protests across America united by a two-word slogan: No Kings. This was the rallying cry of the Democrats against the bold prerogatives assumed by President Donald Trump, echoing the Tea Party, the popular movement that emerged in 2009 to hold President Barack Obama to account.

In fact, whether it’s the Black Panthers, the Daughters of the American Revolution, or Arthur Schlesinger Jr. warning about The Imperial Presidency, Americans of all creeds and passions tend to voice their protest of the government in the language of the Declaration of Independence, even in 2025. This is understandable; it’s a remarkable document that marks the official birth of America.

Most national origin stories are about a great man—sometimes with divine authority—who creates a new country in a specific land for a particular bloodline. One’s nationality was determined by blood and soil, and people lived according to the whims of their rulers. America, on the other hand, was founded on an idea. And what an idea it was...