{"id":3244,"date":"2026-07-04T21:05:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T21:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=3244"},"modified":"2026-07-04T21:05:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T21:05:47","slug":"opinion-the-founding-fathers-audited-the-crown-through-the-declaration-of-independence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=3244","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: The founding fathers audited the Crown through the Declaration of Independence"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>When we picture July 4, 1776, we see our Founding Fathers signing the Declaration of Independence, culminating in the dramatic birth of our country. We think of courage, statesmanship and liberty.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=3242\">The sincere, unapologetic joy of Utah\u2019s Freedom Festival parade<\/a><\/p>\n<p>May I offer another perspective on our Founding Fathers? It\u2019s a title not found in history books, but one I believe they earned: auditor. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAuditor\u201d isn\u2019t as romantic as \u201cRevolutionary,\u201d but they were our first auditors. As Utah\u2019s State Auditor, let me share how our founders were insightful, detailed and courageous auditors.<\/p>\n<div>\n<h5>More guest opinion pieces relating to America 250<\/h5>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><u>Opinion: On America\u2019s 250th anniversary, don\u2019t take our courts for granted<\/u><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><u>Opinion: The Declaration of Independence is more than America\u2019s birth certificate<\/u><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><u>Opinion: American energy is the backbone of national progress and prosperity<\/u><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><u>Opinion: The Declaration of Independence set the stage for religious freedom<\/u><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><u>Opinion: The founders bet their future on the American experiment<\/u><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Auditors look at a system, ask questions about accountability, demand transparency, look where control is being abused and require evidence to make a claim. They are fiercely independent. Reading the Declaration of Independence closely, it\u2019s more than just a political breakup letter; it\u2019s also history\u2019s greatest audit.<\/p>\n<h3>5 ways the founding fathers acted as the nation\u2019s first auditors<\/h3>\n<p>Looking at our nation\u2019s birth through an auditor\u2019s lens, we see five profound lessons from our Founding Fathers.<\/p>\n<h4>1. \u2018Tone at the top\u2019<\/h4>\n<p>Auditors know any entity is only as ethical as its leadership. If leaders lack a moral compass, no rules will save them. The founders understood this perfectly, they established the moral baseline. They wrote the greatest \u201ctone at the top\u201d statement in the Declaration of Independence:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe 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. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They established that in these United States, we, the people, have inherent, God-given rights that must be protected.<\/p>\n<h4>2. The findings<\/h4>\n<p>In audits, you can\u2019t just say, \u201csomething\u2019s wrong.\u201d You need objective proof. Thomas Jefferson, the chief author\/auditor wrote, \u201cTo prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The declaration is an incredibly well-documented list of injustices \u2014 a ledger with 27 specific, documented failures of the British Crown. Our Founding Fathers performed like uncompromising auditors, detailing how King George III failed to uphold their rights:<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=3223\">Letter to the Editor: As we celebrate America 250 choose hope over division<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Taxation without representation<\/li>\n<li>Destruction of personal property<\/li>\n<li>Denial of trial by jury<\/li>\n<li>Suspending colonial legislatures<\/li>\n<li>Making judges dependent on his will<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>They weren\u2019t just complaining; they were documenting evidence for why the system fundamentally failed.<\/p>\n<h4>3. Checks and Balances<\/h4>\n<p>Dangerous things happen when one person has too much power and overrides all \u201cchecks and balances.\u201d Auditors call it \u201cmanagement override.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Our founders saw a leader in King George who had overridden the controls. He unilaterally altered local governments and repeatedly acted as if he were above the law. The founders knew that absolute power destroys accountability. By declaring independence, they laid the groundwork for our system of checks and balances \u2014 ensuring power would be divided and no single person would go unchecked.<\/p>\n<h4>4. \u2018Consent of the Governed\u2019<\/h4>\n<p>Auditors know systems only works if people believe in them. The declaration powerfully states that governments derive their \u201cjust powers from the consent of the governed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The American experiment is built on the radical idea that the system belongs to us, \u201cWe the People.\u201d Our government is only legitimate because we give our consent.<\/p>\n<h4>5. Recommendations<\/h4>\n<p>Most important in an audit report are the recommendations. <\/p>\n<p>Two hundred and fifty years ago, our nation\u2019s first auditors reviewed the British Empire. They found material weaknesses and a catastrophic failure of leadership. They crafted a bold recommendation: the only way to mitigate risks to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was to build a new framework.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved,\u201d reads the declaration. <\/p>\n<p>As we celebrate today, let\u2019s remember what those signatures mean. They demanded accountability. This recommendation is now ours to uphold and defend. It is up to us to join our Founding Fathers in their closing pledge:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=3221\">Red, white and view: Checking out celebrations in the nation\u2019s front yard<\/a><\/p>\n<p>May God bless our home, The United States of America!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Auditors look at a system, ask questions about accountability, demand transparency, look where control is being abused and require evidence to make a claim<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guest-opinion"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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