Argument Essay On The Declaration Of Independence

On July 4, 1776, an independent and fervent nation was born. Our Founding Fathers used an overwhelming sense of integrity and determination to fabricate the Declaration of Independence - a historical document that pleads King George III for independence and stresses the importance of freedom, equality, and natural rights. Though the Declaration of Independence signifies the birth of America and represents a powerful landmark in our history, when looked at from a broad spectrum, it can be seen as arrogant, ironic, and controversial. The Declaration states, “ … 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” (“The declaration”,

One of the most important parts of the Declaration of Independence is its preamble, and, more specifically, certain phrases contained within the preamble. Thomas Jefferson does an excellent job of explaining why the colonies are doing the things they are doing, and is very clear in stating what he and his associates think are the “unalienable rights” of the American people. Among these are “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Probably one of the most famous lines in American history, I have chosen to focus on this phrase and what those three things might have meant to Thomas Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers as they prepared this document, as well as what they mean to us today.

The Declaration of Independence was written on July 4, 1776 by Thomas Jefferson. Its purpose was to officially separate the colonies from Great Britain

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

That every man is born with certain rights that cannot be taken away by one another and to show that they are ready to endure the hardship for the right to practice their beliefs. So they created the Declaration of Independence to show just that, so everyone knew that they are no longer under British control. Signed by fifty six members of the thirteen colonies this document described the King’s unmerited acts in which he puts encumbrance and destitution onto those who he looks

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.

Their first reason for the declaration was their desire for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” This is not to say that it is the responsibility of the government to provide every citizen with happiness, but it was believed that the British were preventing the colonists from being happy. In this time, happiness meant property. Many of the colonists could not own

     The year was sixteen hundred and eighty-nine and a man by the name of John Locke wrote Second Treatise on Government (Zinn 73). In it, Locke wrote that in a natural state everyone, all people, are born free and equal, and possess certain rights. He said that these “natural rights” were life, liberty, and property. He also said that the evildoers who conspired to deprive others of their life, liberty, or property ruined the good life of the state of nature (Locke). The only way to protect these rights is by joining together to form governments. The power of government, then, stems from the consent of the governed, which entrust the government with responsibility for protecting

“We 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”. This famous historical quote from the Declaration of Independence was written as a social and political commentary about the dangers of surrendering freedom to a corrupt government. The founding fathers used this declaration as the foundation for what they believed was the most efficient and morally superior form of government the world would know at that time, and that ideology still stands strong in several

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.

There are four parts that outline the Declaration of Independence. The first part is the Preamble. The Preamble is an introduction to the Declaration of Independence and outlines the purpose behind the Declaration. The second part outlines the rights of all the people. It discusses basic human rights, including the rights of equality, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. One of the most important quote comes from this section regarding human rights this quote is, “All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”. Third part to the Declaration lists grievances against the King and the wrongs that were done by Great Britain. Finally, the fourth part to the Declaration concludes with saying that the thirteen colonies are independent from British rule.

The Declaration of Independence was an important document in American history but it does not mean that it gained us our true freedom. It was a document that was written and signed on July 4th, 1776. The men that signed such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson told the colonists that this was a sign of them splitting from Great Britain and becoming an independent nation thus being called the United States of America. The document was then sent over to Great Britain for King George to read. This possibly could have caused even more hostility between the colonists and Great Britain because of how the British completely ignored the document. It may be seen as an important aspect to the progression of the Revolutionary War but it also

One of the most famous quote people remember from the Declaration of Independence was, “ We hold these truths to be self- evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’ Adams persuaded the committee to select Thomas Jefferson to compose the original draft of the document, which Congress then would edit to create the final version. The Declaration was an explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare

The Declaration of Independence is made up of five distinct parts: the introduction, which states 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” (McClellan, 2000, p. 183 ), and why the United States should be free from Britain’s rule. The preamble, “that set out principles that were already recognized to be

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 declaration of independence established the new American revolutionary government and officially declared war against Great Britain. The primary purpose of the declaration was to assist the Second Continental Congress in obtaining aid from foreign countries. The document also clearly outlines the history of abuses the colonists had suffered under British rule since the end of the French