History lesson from SC’s leaders: Celebrating the 250th year of the declaration

It was one of the most unusual photo ops so far this year at the State House.

The leaders of South Carolina’s three branches of government came together Tuesday in the historic State House lobby to commemorate a strictly non-partisan event — the 250th anniversary of the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Then they sat down at a long table and fixed their names — Gov. Henry McMaster and Chief Justice John Kittredge, House Speaker Murrell Smith and Senate President Thomas Alexander — in inks of varying hues to a proclamation explaining the significance of the declaration.

“We, the heads of the three branches of government of the State of South Carolina, do jointly declare our thanksgiving for and celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In marking this milestone, we take the opportunity to reflect on the enduring significance of the declaration and the legacy forged by its principles,” the proclamation they signed began.

The two-page document they signed went on to cite abuses of colonists’ inalienable rights by King George III and explained how that led to the writing of the Declaration of Independence, explaining to the world “the causes which impel them to the separation.”

It “ranks among the most influential works ever written, uniquely uniting political theory with decisive action. It is not merely a statement of separation, but a reasoned explanation addressed to “a candid world” and grounded in moral principle rather than brute force,” the proclamation said.

Just before the elected heads of the state’s three branches of government sat down to sign their document, each spoke briefly.

• ”The declaration put us on the path to government by the people, but it took a long bloody war and hardship to get us there,” said McMaster. “Think of the courage it took for those 56 men to sign the declaration knowing they were potentially signing their death warrant ... We today are the beneficiaries of their courage and their work.”

• Alexander said, “There is something powerful about this moment, that the people of South Carolina see the legislative branch, executive branch and the judicial branch, all standing together in a common purpose ... We share the same hope and the same responsibility to ensure that the great American experiment endures for generations to come.” Alexander then called attention to a sentence — “the greatest sentence ever written” according to writer Walter Isaacson — in the declaration that begins, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal ...”
• Smith said, “The United States Declaration of Independence was written to tell the most powerful empire on earth that America would choose liberty over fear. It all began with principles, the principle of self-governance and belief in the people ... Our state didn’t just witness the Revolution; our state won the Revolution.”
• Kittredge said, “We have come together to express our profound gratitude for the enduring principles set forth in the our nation’s Declaration of Independence.”
• Kittredge, the architect of the event, urged people to reflect on freedoms they enjoy, “freedoms engraved in our Judeo-Christian founding that found their initial expression in the declaration” and work for “true civics education” in schools and universities.
• Never forget the core truths and rights found in the Declaration — “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” — Kittredge said. Lawmakers must all be vigilant so the original design “is truly reflected in how we govern and not some elusive distant and aspirational goal.”
• People like himself in government must never forget their “solemn and sacred obligation” is “to serve the people from whom we derive our just powers,” said Kittredge. Citizens, too, have a duty to revere and respect the Declaration of Independence, the rule of law and engage in the political process, he said.

The event was one of a series of commemorations this year in South Carolina and around the nation that will celebrate the year leaders of the 13 colonies came together and declared their independence from Great Britain, an event regarded by the founders as the real beginning of the United States of America.

Chief Justice Kittredge, who organized the gathering, said in an interview last fall he wrote a letter to the governor, the House speaker and the president of the Senate and “just floated the idea of us coming together and collaborating on this effort.

“They all promptly agreed, and we began discussions,” Kittredge said.

“We all thought it would be not only educational but beneficial to the citizens of our state to see that, yes, we are in separate branches that have distinct and separate functions, there are checks and balances on each against the others, but yet we can still come together on a moment like this and put our best foot forward and show ... what we stand for,” Kittredge said.

There were some discussions about the best time to hold the event, Kittredge said. “We all came to the consensus that the earlier, the better.”

Kittredge also said the leaders hope to have an outreach to South Carolina schools and civic groups that will include the commemorative proclamation the leaders signed at Wednesday’s event.

“We’re looking to do this in a very broad way as quickly as we can,” the chief justice said.

Also present Tuesday were numerous officials and lawmakers. They included U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling, Attorney General Alan Wilson, State Law Enforcement Division chief Mark Keel and University of South Carolina Rice School of Law dean William Hubbard.

This story was originally published March 5, 2026 at 11:31 AM.