Shella Elgarico's 'We The People'

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These words should sound familiar to most people. They were included in the Declaration of Independence, which was mainly written by Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration announced America’s separation from Britain, tyranny, and the monarchy.

The Declaration of Independence is one of the most remarkable documents of the United States of America. The elaborate document contains almost fourteen-hundred words including a basic structure divided into two parts and within the two divided parts contains four main ideas within seven components. The declaration is not just any standard written document; it is a work of art painted by colonists who are driven by rage because of King George III of Great Britain injustices’ toward the colonies. This exemplifies that colonists took control and took part in creating the Declaration of Independence by voicing their opinions, hoping to acquire the freedom they deserve, “through time, to come together in one place, in one time, and in one

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

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of the United States, explains to his readers why the colonies chose to abolish Great Britain’s government. His goal is to inform the readers that the government has certain responsibilities to the governed and that the British failed to adhere to its responsibilities to its colonists. His second goal is to justify their actions by explaining why it was not considered treason. By establishing his credibility and appealing to ethos, pathos and logos, Jefferson successfully wrote an informative, impactful, and inspirational document.

The principle of equality in 1776 meant the most to white rich American males. Our government has changed so much since 1776 that equality means both men and women alike. “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal.” Women and men stated at the Declaration of Sentiments

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.

This leads to the Declaration of Independence which was adopted July 4, 1776. This document was meant as a self-esteem boost for the new Americans; giving them inalienable rights. “The most important statement in the declaration is the human rights, where the life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are extolled” (Gaynor). “He [Thomas Jefferson] wrote: "... it was intended to be an expression of the American mind" (Early America). Jefferson meant that the American people wanted freedom from high taxes and the big government in England.

The structure of our American Government was founded in the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution was written to be the “supreme law of the land,” and produces a democratic republic, where citizens govern themselves (Our American Government, n.d). The purpose of our government, is to “establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” (Our American Government, n.d.). For our country to accomplish this purpose our Founding Fathers created three principles, “inherent rights, self-government, and separation of powers” (Our American Government, n.d.). The government was developed to ensure order in society and protect its citizens, but with all systems, there is strengths and weakness, let’s examine those strengths and weakness. Let’s first look at the strength and weakness of the U.S. Constitution.

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was written to explain why the colonies wanted to be free from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence did not only serve as a symbol of independence, it was also a proclamation of our nation's beliefs. It was broken down into four parts, the intro, ideals, grievances and declaration. The ideals section consisted of equality, consent of the governed, and the right to change or abolish the government, but the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is the most important ideal.

Enlightenment ideas helped the Americans fight against British rule and create a new nation. With the fight for their new nation came the Declaration of Independence. This document is based on the beliefs of John Locke. John’s teachings mostly focused on self-government and natural rights. John Locke Believed that everyone was created equal with the same three natural rights. The Declaration of Independence argued for natural rights and equality as well. The Declaration of Independence was influenced by Locke’s idea of Equal rights and self-government. They liked the idea of a Democracy, the rule of the people. The United States’ Declaration of Independence states. The American colonist separated from Britain because King George 3rd was not governing the people correctly. For example, he created “Taxation without Representation”. Taxation without Representation is when the American Colonist were being taxed unfairly. John Locke believed the government was there to protect the people, and if they were not being protected they have the right to rebel against the ruler. This is exactly what the American colonist did. The document by the colonies declaring separation from Britain, stated. John Locke’s beliefs of self-government influenced the colonies to rebel and become it’s own

When the colonies fought against England, their cause was to stop the oppression by the crown. The beginning of the Declaration of Independence states “the unanimous declaration of the thirteen States of America”. Emphasizing the concept of freedom of speech, the idea of saying no to something they oppose of. The people's’ objectives led them to the stage of expressing themselves and taking pride in what they say. Like in the Preamble, “We, the people of the United States”. Illustrating that the people are united and fighting a common goal.

John Adams said, “...a more equal liberty than has prevailed in other parts of the earth must be established in America.” The Declaration of Independence was proposed as a solution to America’s problems with King George and Britain; however, congressman Adams saw that it was the perfect time to set the example of a proper government that served to ease the function of a country, not make it more difficult. The declaration needed to be attractive to the people in order to become united in favor of a separation from Britain. With that being said, Jefferson included 4 essential ideals which would be the foundation of this new nation’s government: equality, consent of the governed, the right to alter or abolish government, and most importantly unalienable rights.

The Ideals of the Declaration of Independence are the foundation of a prosperous and strong government. They hold up the government that protects the people and without the ideals, the rights and abilities of all, would tremendously suffer. In June of 1776, Thomas Jefferson was appointed by the Continental Congress to write the Declaration of Independence that would finally declare independence from British rule. Thomas Jefferson with the help of Benjamin Franklin, wrote the document which included four ideals that to this day outline our government and way of life. Equality, Unalienable Rights, consent of the governed, and the most important, the right to alter or abolish, are the foundation of our government. These ideals have allowed the

The Declaration of Independence is one amongst the elemental documents that arranged the inspiration to the United States and its additional development. The Declaration of Independence opened the method for the creation of the new country and therefore the new nation, wherever all people might have a chance to be free and understand their full potential. At identical time, Thomas Jefferson apparently tried to convey the core of his philosophy, political and social views within the Declaration of Independence to form conditions for the event of the best state.

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