Episode 609 Show Notes- America’s Founding Series: Filippo Mazzei & the Declaration of Independence
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Episode Description
In this first installment of America’s Founding Series, Professor Nick Giordano uncovers the forgotten story of Filippo Mazzei, an Italian immigrant whose revolutionary ideas helped shape the Declaration of Independence. While history has largely forgotten about his contributions, Mazzei’s words directly influenced Thomas Jefferson’s famous phrase, “All men are created equal.” Join us as we explore Mazzei’s journey, his friendship with Jefferson, and his tireless efforts to advance the cause of American liberty.
Episode Highlights:
- How an Italian immigrant, Filippo Mazzei, writings influenced the Declaration of Independence
- Mazzei’s friendship with Thomas Jefferson and their late-night debates on liberty
- Why Congress took nearly 200 years to recognize Mazzei’s role in America’s founding
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Show Notes- America’s Founding Series: Filippo Mazzei & the Declaration of Independence
Timestamps
01:59 The Importance of Understanding America’s History
04:41 Filippo Mazzi: An Unsung Hero
07:20 Mazzi’s Influence on American Ideals
09:27 The Legacy of Filippo Mazzi
10:45 From Ordinary to Extraordinary
11:02 Mazzi’s Role in the American Revolution
13:46 The American Identity and Its Foundations
16:24 Conclusion and Future Episodes
Welcome to The P.A.S. Report Podcast
[Auto-Generated Transcript]
Hello everyone, and welcome to The P.A.S. Report Podcast. I’m your host, Professor Nick Giordano. Be sure to follow and subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode, and head over to pasreport.com to sign up for my newsletter, read the show notes, and share the episode with family and friends.
Welcome to America’s Founding Series, a special feature of The P.A.S. Report Podcast.
Too often, Americans are taught a distorted version of our nation’s past, where certain narratives overshadow the remarkable story of how this Republic was built. This has led to a disconnection from our nation’s origins and a diminished understanding of the ideals that made America exceptional – ideals like liberty, self-reliance, and limited government.
While it’s important to acknowledge America’s shortcomings, it’s equally crucial to celebrate the brilliance and courage of those who built this country. The truth is that America’s founding was far more complex, diverse, and extraordinary than what’s commonly taught.
I often ask my students how can a nation survive if most of its inhabitants know little about our country, our history, and our American identity? Think about that question for a moment.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll explore some of the forgotten patriots who played an indispensable role in the founding of this country. Figures like Crispus Attucks, Jorge Farragut, Phillis Wheatley, Gouverneur Morris, Elbridge Gerry, and many more individuals whose contributions shaped the very fabric of our nation.
Men and women who came from all walks of life – immigrants, scholars, merchants, former slaves, frontiersmen.
Now, since this is the first episode in the series, it is going to run a little longer, but going forward, each episode will be about 15 minutes. Also, these episodes are not about politics. They’re not about Democrats or Republicans. These episodes are for all Americans regardless of political ideology, and that’s how they differ from the regular podcast.
In each episode, we’ll uncover their stories, their struggles, their sacrifices, and the ideas they championed. We’ll connect their lives to the founding principles of America, showing why their legacy still matters today.
And today, we begin with a name few have heard of: Filippo Mazzei. Now, if you are a long-time listener of the show, you may have heard me mention him before, but The P.A.S. Report audience has grown significantly, and so I am going to bet that very few listeners have ever heard of Filippo Mazzei, and that’s a shame because without Mazzei, one of the most important documents in human history may have been much different.
Mazzei was a man of many talents. He was a physician, a merchant, a political thinker, and became friends with many of America’s revolutionaries. But he was so much more than that. He was a man of conviction, and you can even say that his words and ideas helped shape the very foundation of America with certain self-evident truths.
And yet, history has largely forgotten him.
So, who was Filippo Mazzei? And how did this Italian guy become a crucial figure in America’s fight for independence?
We’ll find out after this break, so hang tight, and we will be right back.
Break
Filippo Mazzei – The Revolutionary Immigrant
Picture the world Mazzei was born into in 1730. It was a world dominated by empires and monarchies, ruled by kings. The idea of self-rule was unthinkable, and the concept of true liberty was hard to imagine. This is a period of time where ordinary people have little say in their own destinies. Self-determination was nonexistent. The family you were born into would determine your outcome in life, and for most, that meant remaining in the peasant class.
But in this world, Mazzei saw something different and he sought something much greater.
He was born in Tuscany Italy, and Mazzei was a man who sought knowledge. He wasn’t content to live within the rigid structures of European society. He traveled, learned, and embraced ideas that were radical for his time. Trained as a physician, he ventured to the Ottoman Empire before settling in London, where he became deeply interested in politics, philosophy, and commerce.
It was in London that he met Benjamin Franklin. Like Mazzei, Franklin had a hunger for knowledge always seeking to learn more. When they met, the two hit it off and little did Mazzei know at the time, but his encounters with Franklin would change his life forever and perhaps change the course of human history.
Both shared the revolutionary mindset, and Franklin was always one to recognize potential allies for the cause of liberty. He saw something in Mazzei and encouraged him to travel to the colonies where history was being made and new ideas were taking root. Ideas that Mazzei embraced.
In 1773, Mazzei stood at the edge of a life-altering decision. He boarded a ship bound for the American colonies, thinking he was simply bringing Mediterranean crops to Virginia—but fate had other plans. He didn’t just find fertile land. He found a revolution brewing. A fight for liberty unlike anything the world had seen before. And he wasn’t about to sit on the sidelines.
Prior to coming to America, Mazzei already knew Thomas Jefferson as the two shared business connections several years before they actually met. They did exchange some correspondence.
Once Mazzei settled in Virginia, everything would change. He quickly became friends with Jefferson. The two men spent countless nights at Monticello, discussing philosophy, governance, and the idea of self-rule.
They discussed what does true liberty really mean and look like? Not the kind of liberty granted by government, and not the kind that exists in theory.
This was their passion, and in Mazzei, Jefferson found a kindred spirit. A man who believed, as he did, that liberty was not just an idea, but a self-evident truth.
It was during these long discussions that Mazzei articulated something profound. He would later recite it at a speech he gave at a Virginia Church, and in 1774, Mazzei put his thoughts to paper under the pseudonym “Furioso” and published them in the Virginia Gazette.
Mazzei would write these articles in his native Italian tongue, and Jefferson would translate them into English.
And in an article, he wrote:
“Tutti gli uomini sono per natura egualmente liberi e indipendenti. Quest’ eguaglianza è neccessaria per costituire un governo libero.”
When you translate that, it mean, “All men are by nature equally free and independent. This equality is necessary in order to create a free government.”
Sound familiar?
These very words – this very idea – would become the basis for the Declaration of Independence just two years later, when Jefferson penned the famous line: “All men are created equal, and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.”
It was Mazzei’s belief that all human beings deserve to be treated with equal dignity, free and unencumbered from government.
Mazzei’s influence was undeniable, but it goes even deeper than that. I’ll explain when we get back from this quick break so hang tight, we’ll be right back.
Break
The Forgotten Patriot and His Lasting Legacy
Welcome back to The P.A.S. Report Podcast’s America’s Founding Series. We’re talking about Filippo Mazzei and his influence on the founding of America.
The amazing part when it comes to Mazzei is how this Italian guy solidifies what it means to be American. Mazzei is perhaps one of the greatest examples of how an ordinary man becomes extraordinary.
Prior to the Declaration of Independence, Mazzei helped inspire the Virginia Declaration of Rights, where George Mason echoed the very ideas Mazzei had been writing about.
What makes Mazzei extraordinary is that he was not interested in taking credit for his writings. In fact, he stated, “it is entirely owing to a very little remnant of modesty that I don’t desire you to publish that I am the Author of them.”
Mazzei’s influence didn’t end there. He was a passionate advocate for the revolution. He published essays urging Americans to break free from tyranny and argued that self-governance was not just possible, it was necessary.
He became a diplomat of sorts, and worked tirelessly to rally European support for the colonies. He used his connections in Italy and France to help secure aid. He convinced European leaders that America’s fight was not just about one nation’s independence but about the larger battle for human freedom.
Filippo Mazzei wasn’t just a bystander to history. He was shaping it. And he was a big believer in equality. He was an outspoken critic of slavery. He didn’t own slaves or use slave labor, and he demanded that slaves be paid.
Yet, despite his contributions, Mazzei was forgotten by history. Despite that, his contributions are undeniable.
Without his ideas, without his advocacy, and without his tireless work behind the scenes, the fight for American independence might have been much different, and while we cannot say with certainty what the Declaration would have looked like, it may not have had the same force that would rally the people, and ultimately, reshape the world.
Even after independence was won, he continued to defend the American experiment, writing extensively about the need for liberty, limited government, and self-rule.
And I want to make it clear that Jefferson always credited Mazzei. It’s not like he stole Mazzei’s idea. It’s more that Mazzei never sought personal glory. He didn’t fight on the battlefield, and he didn’t sign the Declaration of Independence. Instead, he was one of the invisible architects of the revolution.
A man whose ideas helped build the foundation upon which this country stands.
And that is why we must remember him. It would take nearly 200 years for his contributions to be recognized.
In 1958, John F. Kennedy acknowledged Mazzei in his book, A Nation of Immigrants.
And in 1993, Congress passed a Joint Resolution (H.J.Res. 175) formally recognizing Mazzei as a true patriot of the American Revolution.
Filippo Mazzei, an Italian guy, who embraced the cause of liberty, dedicated himself to the fight for American independence. His words inspired the birth of a young nation that would change the course of history.
He inspired the very words that define the American identity, and he wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last Italian to play a key role in America’s founding.
As we continue America’s Founding Series, we will uncover the forgotten patriots and ideas that shaped our Republic. We will reconnect with the true history of this nation, not the version taught by modern academia, but the history as it was. A history filled with courage, sacrifice, and an unwavering commitment and belief in liberty.
Let me know what you think about the America’s Founding series, and if there is a particular figure you want me to focus on, email me at podcast@pasreport.com
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Next week, I’ll dive into the life of another forgotten patriot so make sure you subscribe and follow The P.A.S. Report Podcast because America’s history is worth remembering.
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