250 years of liberty enhanced by the automobile

The Declaration of Independence talked about the liberties

of a free people. That included the freedom to come and
go where individuals wished. After 250 years of liberty,
we can see that the automobile has enhanced that freedom.

They didn’t have cars 250 years ago when the American Founders signed the Declaration of Independence. It’s doubtful they even considered the idea of horseless carriages that could convey people from here to there. But their choice to fight for freedom has everything to do with the fact that we can go out to our driveways, climb in our cars and drive almost anywhere we want to go.

The idea that Americans were not restrained from crossing state lines, or moving across state lines, did not originate with the automobile. But the concept of liberty was embraced in the new country just as much, along with the right of Americans to live their lives without a King, 3,000 miles away, telling us what we can do or what we can say.

When the automobile came along, it took the liberty of mobility and put it on steroids. This goes a long way to explaining America’s love affair with the car.

In the days of the horse-and-buggy, a trip from McHenry to Chicago would take six to seven hours. If you were making it a roundtrip excursion, that’s 12 to 14 hours on the road. You better have one sturdy horse, a couple places, each way, to stop and feed and water the horse. Or you needed a change of horses somewhere along the way.

Imagine if you wanted to go to Florida on vacation and the only ways to get there was by horse or to walk. According to Google, you’re talking about a six- to eight-week hike. But, if you drive there, it can take you less than 22 hours.

Years ago, people were so enthralled with the automobile they would take a drive as recreational activity. Families would pack a picnic basket and a blanket, drive out into the country a ways, pull over at any ‘good’ spot along the road and have a picnic. It was a somewhat common Sunday-after-church activity.

The thrill of driving the car has faded somewhat. The idea of driving wherever we want to go isn’t as exciting anymore. Of course, we can drive to Boise if we want; who can’t? And then we have driverless cars today.

The fact that we’ve grown accustomed to the thrill of getting on the road and going places doesn’t change the fact that our lives were radically changed by the advent of the automobile, just as our lives were changed in ways we couldn’t possibly count by the idea that 56 men swore their lives and fortunes for liberty by signing the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago.

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