Individual Freedom was important in the American Revolution because it’s one of the biggest things that the American people fought for. The people wanted to become an independent Country out of British rule. “We are a people of cultivators, scattered over an immense territory communicating with each other by means of good roads and navigable rivers, united by the silken bands of mild government, all respecting the laws, without dreading their power, because they are equitable. We are all animated with the spirit of an industry which is unfettered and unrestrained, because each person works for himself.” This quote was in Letters from an American Farmer and the first sentence shows how the common people believe that the people are equal. The second sentence shows individualism by saying each person works for himself. These are what the American people really want is to be able to do what they want with their lives and not …show more content…
“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. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.” This is the most popular quote in the Declaration of Independence saying the same as the quote from the first paragraph saying that the people are equal and should be able to do whatever they want to do with their own
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 Declaration of independence even states that all men have "unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness… ". Take that how you want, but I think Thomas Jefferson was trying to tell us something.
During the Revolutionary War many Americans gave their property, their families, and their lives in exchange for freedom. Would you be willing to die so that someone else could be free? Would you give up all your precious and beloved possessions to a cause that seems hopeless and impossible? Is freedom really worth what it costs to obtain? Thomas Paine once said "those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." So in other words men should fight if they wish to be free. Rab and the other minute
Numerous phrases present in Second Treatise of Civil Government are also present in the Declaration of Independence. Locke believed that all men were born into a state of perfect freedom and equality, and this idea is directly linked to the phrase in the Declaration of Independence that states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” Locke wrote, “The state of Nature has a law of Nature to govern it, which obliges every one…that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.... all men may be restrained from invading others’ rights, and from doing hurt to one another.” The following quote is very similar to the concept of unalienable rights that Jefferson wrote about in the Declaration of Independence that states, “…they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Locke believed that all men are born with certain rights that not even a government can take away and this belief part of the reason that the colonists separated from
The Declaration of Independence states that every citizen is granted the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Furthermore, it marks the turning point in American history where the United States gained its independence from the British Government. The Declaration of Independence argues for the protection of people’s, and to a certain extent, negates government power. Embedded in the Declaration, it states “whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends (revolution), it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it” and “it is their right, it is their duty to throw off such government and to provide new guards for their future security” (Week 2. Foundations and Contradictions ppt.). However, referring back to this passage, in the Declaration of Independence, which is perceived to be a well-respected document that ensures each person’s right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, we can argue that this passage is not applicable to all
The Declaration of Independence was written and signed at the Pennsylvania State house in Philadelphia in 1776 when the colonies broke away from the British government and created their own law system. The Declaration stated the people as the source of government power. They wrote this document to secure and preserve the rights and liberties of the free American people. The Declaration of Independence states “All men are created equal” (though in that time period only the free white property owning men were, not slaves or women) and are granted with unalientated rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The American Declaration of Independence is perhaps the first political document to legitimize the rights of people in order to replace an unjust government.
What also happened during this time period was the fight for freedom and power. Government control of land was something that was thrown across the nation which ended up ruining the union of the states. However, during the American Revolution, it became more stable and land ownership was given at an equal rate. The document I states that pre-revolution the moderate class had a lower percentage but after it increased, so the power shifted to the moderate class instead of the wealthy class. This is important because now there would be more middle-status leaders which will lead to more unity. In Document B, it’s talking about the Declaration of Independence which had the rights that all men had life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Also
The American Revolution was the first real form of freedom introduced to America, and it happened for numerous reasons. Three main reasons could be The Boston Massacre, tea problems, and colonist agitation.
Freedom is marvelous word. Freedom is something we have since we are born in a American hospital.Freedom means to be able to do anything in life and become anything. To volunteer to be in the army not forced to. To be able to study and do what you want not what other people want. The pledge is a speech of freedom. The wars we gained freedom are The Civil War, World War 1 and 2, and The revolutionary war. On all the wars we won have gained freedom. When I think of freedom I think of all the great people that helped us like Abraham Lincoln. Wars are a part of our freedom. If the people with the most power told you what to do every time. You would not know what is right and wrong. You will not be able to learn from your
In “The Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson starts off by talking about how “all men are created equal”, that everyone has certain unalienable rights that a government should never break. If those rights are defied and the government doesn’t protect them, the people have the right to overthrow the government in order to protect them.
The biggest importance of the American Revolution is from it’s result. This revolution is how we became the United States of America and became this new modern nation. The story of the American Revolution is definitely a dramatic one; it is about 13 insignificant British colonies that were three thousand miles from the centers of the Western civilization. The revolution went on to creating a “sprawling republic of nearly 4 million expansive-minded , evangelical, and money-hungry citizens” (Wood xxv). Although this is incredible and was done in fewer than three decades, this is still history that was
The declaration of independence brought with it differences in the application of American values. The founding fathers had different ideas of equality and liberty for different groups of people. Thomas Jefferson wrote in the declaration, “all men are created equal (The Declaration of Independence)”. At the time, women could not own land, African Americans were considered
The American Revolution, also known as the U.S. War of Independence, goes back to 1765-1783. One of the major effects of the American Revolution was that the colonies became recognized as independent. It was now separated from Great Britain. France joined in and became our allies and helped the colonies in 1778. Since France joined the war, they turned a civil war into an international war. There were a lot of causes that led up to the beginning and the end of the war.
The Declaration of Independance is one of the documents that the United states live by. The one who wrote it was Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence states quote "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". But Thomas Jefferson was not the only one to come up with these ideas. The first inspiration would be the Magna Carta.
In the article, ‘The Declaration of Independence’ written by Thomas Jefferson argues that everyone originates with inherent human Rights and that these Rights are something that cannot be appropriated. There are people in the world that believe certain things that cannot and can never be appropriated. Additionally, The Declaration shows all the terrible things that the King had done to the colonists and all the reasons why the United States of America had to become its own country. Great Britain violated the Rights of the colonists by imposing taxes, not allowing them to represent themselves in parliament, not allowing them to pass laws, and many more things. Moreover, all the colonists wanted to do was to live peacefully and prosperously and to govern themselves, but Britain would not allow it. The Declaration of Independence summed up all of these actions to show the King and the government why it was necessary for the colonies to separate from Britain. Although, this may be true Jefferson’s main argument is that we are all inherently deserving of basic human Rights. Accordingly, every one has unalienable human Rights and moreover, those Rights can never truly be appropriated.