“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This most famous line in US history appeared in the Declaration of Independence, the 250th anniversary of which is being marked this weekend.

Americans typically celebrate July 4th with hot dogs, fireworks and baseball. But today under the reign of Donald Trump – a president who rules as if he were a king – there is an opportunity to reflect on how a nation’s founding principles have often served as a source for the democratic renewal that is desperately needed now.

The declaration turned what had been a rebellion against the British Empire by 13 of its North American colonies into a war for independence. It created the United States. It detailed a list of specific grievances against King George III that justified breaking from his tyrannical rule. But its core assertions were striking in their universality: that “all men are created equal”, that their governments must respect basic individual rights, and that if they did not do so then the people could “alter or abolish it”.

Because of its broad principles, the declaration inspired people around the globe. It was a model for the French Declaration of the Rights of Man adopted in 1789. In Ireland, it influenced generations of leaders who sought their own break from the British Empire. Both the Proclamation of 1916 and the 1919 Irish Declaration of Independence drew on the American example. Even the........

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