A Critique Of The Declaration Of Independence

The Ideals of the Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence is the most important document in the history of the most influential nation in the modern world – The United States of America. Many other nations and societies that have gained their independence since this declaration was drafted in

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE (1776) Thomas Jefferson Context The Declaration of Independence, completed and signed in July of 1776, marked the official separation between the 13 colonies and Great Britain. An armed struggle between the colonies and Britain had begun just over a year before, with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The formal

“We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” - The Declaration of Independence

One of the things talked about in the Declaration of Independence is that everyone is created equal, meaning that your race, ethnicity, or religion does not matter. Now, we have evolutionized and finally understand that this does not determine our social class and we treat everyone the same. In the Declaration of Independence it is shown as “We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal.” The author, Thomas Jefferson, and Continental Congress put this in the document, not just because some people wanted it, but because it was something that they believed in. Sometimes, we see equality happening, but many times, people do not understand that they need to change their attitude because the Continental

The declaration states that men have had "absolute tyranny" over women throughout all of history, and it is this idea that has prevented the progression of women's abilities an talents.1 The declaration continues to say that women have been robbed of their inalienable rights, rights to hold property, representation in government, an education, job opportunities, and many other rights that have only been applicable to men in the past.2 The ideas and concepts suggested in the Seneca Falls Declaration evoked strong feelings of equality among women, and it also sparked anger amongst men.

The Declaration of Independence was written for the purpose of separating the American colonies from the British Empire. In context of history, The Declaration was the first step into a modern representative democracy. In addition, the makers of the declaration, primarily Thomas Jefferson, constructed an argument to state the problems they had with Britain and tell how the new American government was going to deal with the problems. The argument Jefferson constructed was one made with all the wrong evidence; however, he built the argument in such a way to rally a people for war. The Declaration of Independence is a well-written example of argument and persuasion with its use of structure as a whole, use of specific fallacies, and use of appeals.

When Thomas Jefferson wrote the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, it became one of his greatest legacies. In the first line he wrote, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal" (U.S. Constitution, paragraph 2). Jefferson wrote these words to give inspiration to future generations in the hopes that they would be able to change what he either would or could not. The word “men” in the Declaration in the early 1700 and 1800’s meant exactly that, but even then it only was true for some men, not all. Women, children, and other segments of the population such as slaves and Native Americans were clearly not included. Jefferson himself was a slave owner and held the belief that women were

The Declaration of Independence was a revolutionary document, for a revolutionary statement that was implemented on July 4, 1776 by the Continental Congress. The Declaration of Declaration of Independence was written and implemented to signify the separation that the thirteen colonies took from British reign

The Declaration of Independence was signed today. I don’t understand why anyone would want to sign it. It seems like it won’t really help anyone. Why can’t they just leave everything the way it is? The King will get less irritated with time. Many of our parents lived in England, and when they came to this new land, they meant to continue living under the King’s rule, not to fight him over a few inconvenient laws. People these days seem very excitable. Anything seems to be enough of a reason to go to war.

The Second Continental Congress was formed on May 10th, 1775 in Philadelphia's State House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Second Continental Congress worked towards unifying the colonies to stand against the British, and form Independence. The Second Continental Congress was a crucial factor during the development of the United States of

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence for the American colonists to proclaim freedom from Great Britain's dictator, King George III. American colonists had been suffering for many years when this important document was drafted. King George III had pushed the colonists into a state of tyranny and most decided it was time to start an independent nation under a different type of government. Jefferson focused his piece toward many audiences. He wanted not only King George III and the British Parliament to know the American's feelings, but also the entire world. The time had come for an huge change amongst the American colonists and Jefferson made sure everyone was aware of it by using his superior strategies of persuasion.

First off, in The Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, the men who imputed and or wrote the document are now thought of as hypocrites. They wrote on thing but in turn did the complete opposite of what they had wrote. “Jefferson wrote that if a government does not protect the rights of citizens, people have the right to form a new government,” (Mifflin). Although, the draft of the document was a good idea on paper, when it came down to it, the authors did not do what they said was fair. It is common knowledge that Thomas Jefferson owned slaves. Then while writing The Declaration of Independence, he says, “That all men are created equal,” (pg. 112, line 7) How is slavery equality? So while he was trying to get the people free from britain, he used some lines that brought up hypocrisy.

Many would say that America was built on the principle that “all men are created equal” and that U.S. citizens are all given equal treatment, opportunities, and so on. But, is that really the case? Was Thomas Jefferson’s famous words, forever inscribed in the Declaration of Independence, meant for everyone? Taking a look back into America’s short (at least when compared to other countries) history, the phrase “all men are created equal” doesn’t really seem to correlate with the circumstances of that century. Africans were enslaved and forced to do hard, strenuous labor or else be forced to endure a beating by the slave master. But don’t forget, all men are created equal. It says so in the constitution. Fast forward a couple of hundred years where all men still aren’t equal, but are close to it.

Additionally, the Declaration of Independence called for the equality of all men in society. For example, the document states that “all men are created equal.” Jefferson, however, truly meant that all free, property-owning white males are created equal. Therefore, the institution of slavery demonstrates how African American slaves were not included in this statement. In Frederick Douglass’s Rochester speech, he asked whether political freedom and natural justice embodied in the Constitution extended to African slaves. Of course the words of the document did not extend to African Americans, which is clearly depicted through the Slave Codes. Only white male landowners could truly take part in the democratic government and African slaves were perceived as property. Obviously, the ideal that all men are created equal was not true as slaves were unable to vote, own property, or bear arms. Additionally, enslaved Africans were subject to legal imbalance and if they were accused of a crime, they would almost always be put to death. Several more Slave Codes included travel restrictions, ownership of

The legal documents that served as a foundation of this nation, such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, referred to society as men and nowhere within the lines of such documents the word women was ever