by Patrick J. Buchanan – July 2, 1997

As another anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is upon us, it is fair to ask: What would the men of ‘76 think of us?

While they would surely be awed by America’s size, wealth and power, I suspect they would be unimpressed with our leaders and alarmed at our course.

The independence they won at immense sacrifice was, after all, an economic as well as a political independence. Yet our leaders are deliberately increasing our dependency on a global economy. Total trade — less than a tenth of gross national product for generations — is now 23 percent and projected to reach 36 percent by 2010. America will then cease to be a truly independent nation.