Ideals of the Declaration of Independence In order to understand the Declaration of Independence, it is necessary to review the actions that took place before the Revolutionary War. Before the Declaration of Independence, the British levied taxes in order to pay the debt piled from the French and Indian War. The colonist who were paying those taxes believed it was unfair to tax without representation. The colonists argued and stated conditions which were then written in an official document. The aspects of equality, right to revolt or abolish, consent of the governed, right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, were reviewed with great thought. However, there are some ideals written in the Declaration of Independence that are more valuable than others. Therefore, the most important ideal written in the document is the right to revolt or abolish. After the Revolutionary war, many countries were influenced by the Declaration of Independence. During the year of 1989, protesters and students from a Chinese university crowded Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The group protested against the corruption of government and demanded a change to democracy. Unfortunately, the group was suppressed and the protest ended in tragedy, about 3,000 people were …show more content…
Every ideal had a powerful influence on many people and changed the perspectives of many people as well. The ideals of the Declaration of Independence are still widely used in the U.S. Thousands of citizens today, have begun to protest many decisions made by the president which they feel are unjust and unconstitutional. The right to revolt or abolish is still present in the U.S. today. The ideals of the Declaration of Independence continue to be respected and valued as time
The Declaration of Independence was formed resulting from the treatment of 13 colonies from the British government without representation after subsequent denials to be represented and treated equal. This historic document was revolutionary because it’s what began the transition of our government into a democracy unlike that of parliament in the 1700’s. The British government and their ruling made decisions that didn’t involve what was right for the people; only what was in the best economic interest of parliament. This caused significant hardships on the American colonies which eventually led to them coming together as a people and forming this declaration.
In comparing Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists, The Declaration of Independence, and U.S. Constitution, it is evident that the basis of all three documents is the idea that all human beings possess God-given fundamental rights and that government is created to protect those rights. The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, is the first of the three documents penned. This is important because it defined the rights of liberty and equality of all American citizens as outlined in John Locke’s natural law thesis (Martin, page 113). In addition to providing an itemized account of the grievances colonist’s held against King George III of England, it served to justify the colonist’s quest for independence and separation from British rule. The Declaration of Independence conveyed to the crown that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, which among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The Founders’ of the New World understood that their pursuit of liberties and autonomy specified in the Declaration of Independence could not come to fruition without instituting decrees. In 1787, the U.S. Constitution, was written to replace the Articles of Confederation with a better defined series of stringent laws that would legally uphold the freedoms and privileges established in the Declaration of Independence. The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights in
Our American government became independent from Great Britain, on July 4, 1776. There was a committee of five people who wrote the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration has a structure of an introduction, a statement of ideals about government, a long list of grievances against the British, and a Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. Yet the four ideals; consent of governed, Equality, Unalienable Rights, and the right to alter or abolish, are the foundation of our government. Equality is the most important and the reason our government is so successful to this day.
On June of 1776, the Declaration of Independence was born. Drawn up by Thomas Jefferson and based on the works of John Locke, the general purpose of the document was to clarify that governments have conditional, not absolute authority over the people; that human beings possess natural rights that can’t be taken from them and government is created to protect those rights. The phrases “unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and “all men are created equal” were the main theme of the social contract written for the small colonies of what would be the basis of the United States of America to declare independence from Great Britain and its tyrannical king. However, “unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and “all men are created equal” did not apply to African Americans, enslaved or free for the coming years.
This leads to the Declaration of Independence which was adopted July 4, 1776. This document was meant as a self-esteem boost for the new Americans; giving them inalienable rights. “The most important statement in the declaration is the human rights, where the life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are extolled” (Gaynor). “He [Thomas Jefferson] wrote: "... it was intended to be an expression of the American mind" (Early America). Jefferson meant that the American people wanted freedom from high taxes and the big government in England.
The American Declaration of Independence has affected the foundation of the United States more than any other event or document in American history. The Declaration of Independence was the basis for what the country was established on. The document was a way for the colonists to emancipate themselves from the cruelty of King George. This document had such an impacting effect because it was such a new way of bringing up concerns. It was the first of its kind in the history of America in the aspect of liberation of a group of people.
Though term was yet to be coined, these rights give birth to the "American Dream." The bulk of The Declaration is specific in making complaints to and about King George the III. All the complaints are in violation of some basic right or another. The Declaration of Independence in essence says to England, "we are free men, and potentially a great nation, we will not be restricted and bound by your unjust and inhumane laws any longer."
The Declaration of Independence is one of the most famous documents in the history of the United States of America. It helped the colonists declare independence from Great Britain and King George III. It is one of the documents that has made our country what it is today. Without the Declaration many things would be different. After reading this I hope you are able to see what these great men went through to make America’s founding document.
The American Declaration of Independence has affected the foundation of the United States more than any other event or document in American history. The Declaration of Independence was the basis for what the country was established on. The document was a way for the colonists to emancipate themselves from the cruelty of King George. This document had such an impacting effect because it was such a new way of bringing up concerns. It was the first of its kind in the history of America in the aspect of liberation of a group of people.
In the summer of 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. After the Congress reviewed the document and established some changes, the colonies declared their independence from Great Britain, by the period between the 2nd and 4th of July of the same year. The declaration contained many ideals, but the four main ideals were equality, the right to alter or abolish government, consent of the governed, and unalienable rights, they were the most important, because they sat the structures for the most important document in the modern U.S history, “The Constitution of the United States of America. Each one of the four ideals holds a significant importance to the modern society, but the ideal of unalienable rights is the most important.
The Ideals of the Declaration of Independence are the foundation of a prosperous and strong government. They hold up the government that protects the people and without the ideals, the rights and abilities of all, would tremendously suffer. In June of 1776, Thomas Jefferson was appointed by the Continental Congress to write the Declaration of Independence that would finally declare independence from British rule. Thomas Jefferson with the help of Benjamin Franklin, wrote the document which included four ideals that to this day outline our government and way of life. Equality, Unalienable Rights, consent of the governed, and the most important, the right to alter or abolish, are the foundation of our government. These ideals have allowed the
The American Revolution was not only a battle between the British and the colonists; it was a historical movement that brought about new ways of thinking. The ideas of liberty and equality began to be seen as essential to the growth of the new nation. The separation of the American colonies from the British Empire occurred for a number of reasons. These reasons are illustrated in the Declaration of Independence. Although Thomas Jefferson wrote the document, it expressed the desire of the heart of each colonist to be free of British rule. British rule over the colonies became unbearable in the early months of 1776, making it clear to the colonists that it was time to either give in
During the late 1700’s the American colonists waged a war for independance on the British arguing their fundamental liberties had been deprived. As the founding fathers declared themselves independent from Great Britain, and built their new nation, they quickly addressed their ambitions in the Constitution. However as the former colonists built their new nation, they decided their revolution ambitions needed pragmatic alterations. These objectives that the former colonists addressed in the Declaration of Independence were in one way or another modified, expanded upon, or subverted. The dispute of civil rights for the Colonists was expanded upon and subverted, in order to appeal to white property owning males. Furthermore the former Colonists wanted to create a form government in which the citizens had the power, this intention was expanded upon
The Declaration of Independence helped gain our natural rights, our equality, and our freedom everyone deserves in America on July 4th, 1776. For example, “A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to separation.” (Jefferson, 1) clearly stated that no one can question or sent to jail by our opinions that our opinions count which, is an example of freedom of speech, that an enlightenment thinker named Voltaire believed in. This line allows us Americans say what we want to say without being penalized. The Declaration of
When foreigners envision the United States, they often visualize economic opportunities, but more importantly: liberty and equality. The birth of America could only happen with the hard and persevered works of its founding fathers; this includes the writing of the Declaration of Independence. Danielle Allen, a professor of government at Harvard University and an African American, claims the Declaration as patrimony. In her book Our Declaration, she defended and argued how the Declaration provides liberty and equality to the American people. But intense analysis of the Declaration proves otherwise. Allen’s interpretation of the document was wrong; the Declaration of Independence is not a document of liberty and equality for all, but rather a document for white men that transcribes the founding fathers’ desire for superiority and the coding of white privilege.