The Declaration of Independence has been considered one of the most, if not the most, influential documents in American history. Over the course of over 200 years the ideas imprinted on the document have been the basis of what the citizens of the U.S. have believed to be the ideal government relationship to the people. What people seem to understand is that each of these ideals are extremely important to the outline of the government. These 4 ideals consist of Equality, consent of the governed, unalienable rights, and , most importantly, the right to alter or abolish government. Equality is what everyone thinks about when it comes to America, equal opportunity that is available to each citizen. Millions of people throughout history and throughout the United States have fought for equality through many different groups, whether it be through a war or boycott. The idea of equality has changed drastically over the years changing what is accepted and what isn’t. The declaration of independence is a document that has held the idea of everyone has access to the inalienable rights of humans. Women are a prime example of a group that has fought for equality for decades. They’ve been managing and hosting women’s rights conventions for many years, rallying women as well as men in order to support their cause. One specifically that they’ve been hosting for a long time is the one in Seneca Falls, NY. They’ve actually set up the “Declaration of Sentiments” (Doc A) essentially adding
The Declaration of Independence is the document that created the great nation that we now call the United States of America. Although all four of the keys ideals are important, the unalienable rights ideal is by far the most important because without life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the other three key ideals would not have meaning. Equality is a right to be protected. Consent of the governed is needed to protect these unalienable rights. Finally, if the people feel that their unalienable rights are not being protected, they can alter or abolish government.
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
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.
The issue the Declaration of Independence being a legal document has been up for debate in courts for many years now. Although, the Declaration of Independence clarifies the United States identity as a free nation, it has generated intense controversy. Some feel strongly that it did not clearly define the new powers that the thirteen colonies would acquire and did not define the identity of the United States; while, others firmly believe that without the Declaration of Independence the United States would not be the free nation that it is today. Therefore, serving as the foundation for many laws and documents composed after it, the Declaration of Independence has been helpful in defining the rights of the American citizens, the powers of
No documents have had a greater influence on the citizens of our country than the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. The Declaration of Independence marked the birth of our republic and set forth our “unalienable rights” to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Later, the Constitution outlined our style of government and defined the rights that are protected from intrusion by government.
The Declaration of Independence written on July 4, 1776, was the first of the three documents written. When reading this document it is hard to ignore the emotion it exudes of a people not just longing for independence, but rather who’ve grown tiresome of the lack of equality compared to that of those on the motherland. The Declaration of Independence is the autonomous stance of a people declaring not just independence, but claiming their right to disassociate themselves from under the leadership from whom they consider a tyrant and therefore, “unfit” to be a leader of the free land. Unlike the US Constitution, this document discusses and/or lists in depth the atrocities and unconstitutional acts displayed by the ruler of England, the King and its theme is more so a grievance.
There was once a country that did not have unalienable rights. Its citizens did not have the power to live life the way they want to, they could not strive to achieve their full potential, and lived under an oppressive government that did not allow them to have freedom. This description of this “country” may seem like an excerpt from a fictional apocalypse story but this is how America would be like without the Declaration of Independence and its emphasis on the four ideals, which includes equality, unalienable rights, consent of the governed, and the right of the people to alter or abolish the government. This is also the current condition of many countries that do not emphasize the four ideals. The Declaration was written by Thomas Jefferson in June 1776 after he was asked by the Continental Congress to write a Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. At this point, the Revolutionary War has been going on for a year. The colonies finally wanted to break away from Britain and appointed a committee of five to write, edit, and publish the document. The Declaration of Independence stated four important ideals but which ideal is most important? Of these ideals, equality and right to alter or abolish the government are very significant, but the most important ideal is unalienable rights.
Ideals stated in the Declaration of Independence became the foundation for what America was to become and what it is today. This document is the most important document in the history of the United States of America. Written by Thomas Jefferson at age 33 and signed by numerous American leaders in 1776, this document forever changed the rich history of the world. There are four main ideals stated in the Declaration of Independence; equality, liberty, consent of the governed, and alter or abolish government. Although liberty and the consent of the governed are important ideals, equality is the most important.
The Declaration of Independence set the basis for our constitution and government today. The Declaration of Independence not only shaped the United States, but shaped many other countries all over the world as well. The Declaration was a long list of grievances against the british which recognized America’s succeeding from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence has multiple ideals, but which are more important? Some of the more important ideals in the declaration of independence include Equality, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, consent of the governed, and being able to alter or abolish the government. However, the most important ideals are Equality, consent of the governed, and the right to alter or abolish the government.
Ideals of the Declaration ` On July 4th, 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. After years of tyranny from Britain, the founding fathers had had enough. They had been taxed without representation and forced to house British soldiers that they did not want there. Thomas Jefferson included four main ideals to make America a great country, but which is the most important? The most important ideal of the declaration is equality.
The Declaration of Independence was written in the point of view of people against the British colonist rule in The United States. According to this document, when America achieves independence from Britain, the people will be able to live under “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. The Declaration of proves that Independence is important to being an American because without freedom from the grievances afflicted by Britain on America, the citizens would not have the liberty to pursue what makes them happy in life. Furthermore, The Bill of Rights, which is told from the perspective of the American people, states that “powers are that are not delegated to the federal government are retained by the states and the people” which explains that as much power as possible should be given to the people and the independent states. The decision to have the people and the states they live in to make their own separate and independent choices helps extends the knowledge on how independence defines what it means to be an American. The Documents The Bill of Rights and The Declaration of Independence further explain that independence is an important part to what it means to be an
The Declaration of Independence was written over 200 years ago, but still remains influential to the nation today. This document was written in order for the colonists in North America to separate themselves from the crown, and establish a working theory of how a government should be run. The declaration states four key ideas about how a government operates. While all are important, which one affects us the most? Today in our American society, the ideas of equality, unalienable rights, and the right to alter or abolish corrupt governments are important, but having the powers from consent of the governed is truly critical for this country to function.
In July of 1848, there was a women’s rights convention where the members adopted a Declaration of Settlements: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal,” that they should be able to have a voice in anything that happens(Document A). The Declaration has made this possible for the minority. Without this document people might still be under the King of Great Britain’s rule. For those that move here too this document lets them be able to have a voice in whatever might be going on. Diana Pham is very grateful for the opportunities that America has given to her and her children; “... which would never have been possible without the country’s belief in equality(Document A).” Diana Pham grew up without being completely equal to others around her in her life so she is thankful that American believes in equality unlike some other countries. Americans are still working on how they treat people but it is an ongoing thing that the people should always be working
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.
Equality is a very big deal in America and without it there would be so much segregation. This is the most important ideal in the Declaration of Independence. The girls in the paragraph were able to go to college because of equal opportunities in America, “which would never have been possible without this country’s belief in equality.” (Doc A.) Before the Declaration, women were not treated the same as men. They were not given the same respect or opportunities. The Declaration of Independence allowed women to pursue their dreams in the same way as