July 4, 2026, marks 250 years since 
the Declaration of Independence 
– this imperial separation is a key 
moment in both the history of the 
USA and Great Britain, albeit one 
that the latter wishes to forget! The 
phrase coined by Winston Churchill, 
the ‘Special Relationship’, attempts 
to soothe over the history and forge 
a better partnership between the 
two nations for the future. The high 
ideals of 1776 declared that, ‘all men 
are created equal’, endowed with 
‘unalienable rights to life, liberty, and 
the pursuit of happiness’. It further 
asserts that, ‘Governments are 
instituted among Men, deriving their 
just powers from the consent of the 
governed,’ and ‘it is the Right of the 
People to alter or to abolish it’ - all 
proudly announced and adopted 
in Philadelphia (city of “brotherly 
love”) at the then Pennsylvania State 
Hall (now Independence Hall). The 
principal author, Thomas Jefferson, 
was a man of learning and erudition; 
he envisaged a nation of religious 
liberty and tolerance, and many of 
the Founding Fathers were heavily 
influenced by the Enlightenment ideals 
of liberty and reason. In the longer 
term, 1776 would give the world ideas 
of democracy, self-determination, 
individualism, representation as well 
as lay the foundation for modern 
republicanism and constitutionalism. 
Indeed, George Washington, one of the 
Founding Fathers and First President 
of the USA from 1789-1797, said 
in his farewell address that, ‘virtue 
or morality is a necessary spring of 
popular government.’ In light of this, 
let us hope that the USA continues to 
live up to the enlightened aspirations of 
1776 and helps others to share in them 
across the globe.
Mr Mohammed	
Letter to America
Alistair Cooke’s Letter from America was a feature of BBC Radio schedules for decades, the first broadcast beginning on 
24th March 1946, shortly before the end of World War II. It involved the presenter addressing an issue of moment each week, 
focussing on a particular event or theme relevant to American citizens at the time of broadcasting. And each ‘Letter’ ends 
with Alistair Cooke’s customary ‘Goodnight’. It is an extraordinary chronicle of an amazing period in U.S. history, reflecting key 
moments including the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and his younger brother Senator 
Robert F. Kennedy, the history of the Civil Rights movement and the murder of Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King. 
Head of History at Handsworth Grammar School, Mr Mohammed, responds here with his 
Letter to America, with a personal reflection on U.S. history.
The United States: A historical perspective
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