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Declaration Of Independence Analysis

Decent Essays

Thomas Jefferson, along with the second Continental Congress, used great care to ensure that both the words and the ideas professed in the Declaration of Independence were precise and symbolic. Upon examination of the list of grievances that King George III of England committed against the American colonies, appears the term “our constitution.” The reference to our constitution is not the singular written constitution that contemporary American’s associate with the word; it is much more complex. The Continental Congress’ reference to “our constitution” denotes an assemblage of principles, customs, laws, and precedents blending ideas from classical republicanism, European enlightenment, and protestant Christianity; made of written and understood ideals it reflected America’s understanding that government is …show more content…

This 1787 constitution has all necessary elements: an identity of people, a statement of unifying principles, a structure of government designed to realize said principles and a guarantee of basic rights through limitation placed on the government. Nevertheless, in 1776 though these elements are not codified in one document, they are echoed throughout the colonies in natural and common law. One place that identity of government is clarified the colonial charters. For example, the Mayflower compact notes “We whose names are under-written,” while the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut takes identify further stating, “do for our selves and our successors, and such as shall be adjoined to us at any time hereafter, enter into Combination and Confederation together” (CP, 184). These statements clarify the identity of who is entering into the social contract. A further look at the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut shows unifying principles, “to maintain and preserve the liberty and purity of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus

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