Talk:Declarationism

Source for this term?
What is the source for the term Declarationism? The word is not used by the sources now listed in the article, and Google Book Search tells me it's not used in Jaffa's Storm over the Constitution or A New Birth of Freedom, or indeed any other work currently searchable via Google Books. The few uses of the term on the Web seem to be primarily Wikipedia mirrors.

Was this term coined by a Wikipedia editor? —Kevin Myers 04:37, 17 April 2009 (UTC)


 * I had nothing to do with the writing of this article but I've heard the term before and think it is excellent. --BenMcLean (talk) 22:23, 1 March 2010 (UTC)


 * If at some point you remember where you heard the term, be sure to let us know, especially if it was in a reliable source. As it stands now, this article (or at least the term) could be deleted because we have no examples of the term being used in reliable (or even unreliable!) sources on the Declaration of Independence. —Kevin Myers 23:49, 1 March 2010 (UTC)

I also don't know where it came from but I'd hate to see it disappear because I endorse this --Nerd42 (talk) 04:32, 18 January 2011 (UTC)

Could it be a new term? Is there any further information about proponents --Gthedaydreamer (talk) 20:04, 10 April 2011 (UTC)


 * It does appear to be a new term for an old idea. Professor Ken I. Kersch used the term recently in "Beyond Originalism: Declarationism and Constitutional Redemption", so we have at least one example of the term being used that we can cite. —Kevin Myers 01:23, 11 April 2011 (UTC)

Error in stated definition
The following statement in the article is untrue: >>>Proponents claim that the concept is derived from the philosophical structure contained in the Declaration of Independence and assertion that it was the Declaration that created the nation, the Constitution creating only the federal government.<<<

The Declaration of Independence resulted in the liberation of peoples within various colonies who then formed a confederacy of states under Articles of Confederation. These Articles in turn gave way to the creation of a federal nation having the same name as the confederation of states.

It is from this combination of People liberated from colonial rule under various forms of government, combined with confederated states that in turn gave rise to the creation of the federal nation with its combination of powers split between People and States.

88.104.254.135 (talk) 10:41, 20 January 2012 (UTC)

I'm not sure you're grasping the distinction that is being drawn between "government" and "nation." The claim is that the American nation existed before the American government existed. The American nation was formed by what was declared in Declaration, (Independence) previous to which, the American colonies were not a nation but were part of the British nation. It was several years after that when the American Federal government was formed. Many nations go through several governments in history. --BenMcLean (talk) 17:29, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

I have reconsidered this over the past year and I think it is clear that the Declaration did not form the nation exactly. The Declaration declared facts that it's authors and proponents would argue already existed. The Declaration only formed the American nation in the sense that it awoke the people to recognize the existence of an American nation separate from the British which came to exist over a period of several years preceding it as the British abuses that led to the revolution mounted. I think most Declarationists would agree with that analysis and the article should probably be re-edited slightly to account for this historical matter. --BenMcLean (talk) 15:52, 4 March 2013 (UTC)