Wagner Center Calls Americans to Reaffirm the Founding Truths of Liberty at Michigan’s Day Under the Dome
Updated: 4 days ago
LANSING, MI — As America commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Honorable William Wagner (Ret.), Distinguished Chair for Faith and Freedom at Spring Arbor University, challenged Americans to reaffirm the enduring truths upon which the nation was founded.
Speaking at the 2026 Day Under the Dome event, held at the Michigan History Museum and Library in Lansing, Wagner delivered an address examining the relationship between truth, human dignity, unalienable rights, and constitutionally limited government.
“Two hundred fifty years ago, Americans stood against the most powerful empire on earth,” Wagner observed. “They did not begin their case with military strength. They did not begin with economic power. They did not even begin with democracy. They began with truth.”
Drawing upon the Declaration of Independence and the nation’s constitutional heritage, Wagner emphasized that the American experiment rests upon the recognition of rights that precede government and cannot legitimately be taken away by political authority.
A former federal judge, federal prosecutor, and constitutional law professor, Wagner warned that freedom cannot endure when government assumes the authority to define the source or limits of human dignity.
“I hold that our rights are unalienable precisely because they are not gifts from government,” Wagner declared.
Throughout his remarks, Wagner emphasized the importance of the Rule of Law, the necessity of restraining political power, and the moral foundations upon which ordered liberty depends. He reminded his audience that no elected official, legislature, court, or political majority possesses ultimate authority over the conscience and inherent dignity of the individual.
The address culminated in a powerful affirmation of the principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence, challenging the present generation to preserve the constitutional inheritance entrusted to it.
“Because truth does not depend upon America. America depends upon truth,” Wagner proclaimed.
Wagner concluded with a call for Americans to remain faithful to the nation’s founding commitments: honoring human dignity, protecting freedom of conscience, preserving limited government, and ensuring that liberty endures under God.
The address reflected the mission of Spring Arbor University’s Wagner Faith & Freedom Center, which seeks to advance freedom of thought, conscience, and religion through education, scholarship, and public engagement grounded in the enduring principles of faith and constitutional liberty.
As the nation marks its semiquincentennial, Wagner’s message offered both a reminder and a challenge: America’s future freedom depends upon whether its people remain faithful to the truths that made its founding possible.
