Staying Human by Dinesh D'Souza Essays

Franklin continues to support the fact that “All Men are Created Equal” in the Declaration of Independence even after eleven years prior to the signing. Owen Brown, writer of the Declaration of Liberty on July 4, 1859 even states, “That No Man had any right to deprive his fellow Man, of these Inherent rights, except in punishment of Crime.” He then continues to go on with, “The history of Slavery in the United States, is a history of injustice & Cruelties inflicted upon the Slave in every conceivable way, & in barbarity not surpassed by the most Savage Tribes.” (Doc. D). Both Owen Brown and Benjamin Franklin both agree that if “All Men are Created Equal” (Doc. A), then slavery must go. It has become a savage and cruel part of our history and is hypocritical otherwise. It is amazing that even after eighty years, the United States Declaration of Independence continues to anchor its way to current politics.

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

Slavery is an evil seed, deeply rooted in our country’s history. Nowadays, many choose to ignore it or forget it, but one must admit to its existence and horror. This seed led to debates of fair vs. unfair, right vs. wrong, human vs. property. Consequently, one man sought out to express this horror and struggle that he had experienced first hand. Benjamin Banneker, the son of former slaves, writes to the framer of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson in 1791. He speaks for “his brethren” and asks Jefferson to “wean yourself from those narrow prejudices which you have imbibed with respect to them [slaves].” This recommendation is supported by emotional appeals describing the extent of slavery, reflections of Jefferson’s

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.

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 freedom of America’s slaves has always been accredited to Abraham Lincoln, but he was not always the complete abolitionist as he is commonly portrayed. The “house divided”, as Lincoln depicts it in his famous ‘House Divided’ speech, of the United States during the Civil War, was not always lead towards the freedom of all mankind, and there is sufficient evidence to support this claim. The sixteenth president is most commonly remembered for inducing the courage and determination to end the Civil War, with the Emancipation Proclamation, although when it more closely studied he did not cross the great divide of enslavement vs. freedom with the submittal of that fabled document. When following the many famous quotes and speeches of Lincoln’s life, it appears that he was against all slavery and bondage. At the same time, when more closely examined, the quotes and speeches actually leaned towards his lack of strong opinion on the outcome of slavery. Lincoln is perceived as the most famous revolutionary of American history, but he does not live up to his legacy of being the eradicator of forced servitude.

Stephen Douglass was not right to claim that limiting the majority’s power violates principles of self-government. His democratic mindset insists that the will of the majority is infallible, and it enables a majority to oppress a minority. This response will explore the drastic difference between Stephen Douglass’ and Abraham Lincoln’s understandings of self-government.

One of the preeminent factors provoking the former Colonists to revolt from the British was concerned with liberty for all; this concept was expanded upon in Constitution, and subverted by the white men who wrote the Constitution. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independance in 1776, one of opening paragraphs decrees the Americans right to liberty: “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”(Thomas Jefferson). Jefferson starts the document addressing the repressed liberty of the Americans in order to demonstrate the importance of fundamental rights. However, though Jefferson says “all men are created equal,” he does not specify a distinction of men, implying all Americans are equal. In the Constitution, the Preamble expresses the need for equality by declaring: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the

The juxtaposition Eric Foner creates between Stephen A. Douglas’s, popular sovereignty and Lincoln’s absolutist ideology, demonstrations that the issue of slavery will ultimately transform the political atmosphere for years to come. According to Foner, both Lincoln and Douglas disagree on the account of the intentions of the founding fathers right to “local self-government”.

The freedom of America’s slaves has always been accredited to Abraham Lincoln, but he was not always the complete abolitionist as he is commonly portrayed. The “house divided”, as Lincoln depicts it in his famous ‘House Divided’ speech, of the United States during the Civil War, was not always lead towards the freedom of all mankind, and there is sufficient evidence to support this claim. The sixteenth president is most commonly remembered for inducing the courage and determination to end the Civil War, with the Emancipation Proclamation, although when it more closely studied he did not cross the great divide of enslavement vs. freedom with the submittal of that fabled document. When following the many famous quotes and speeches of Lincoln’s life, it appears that he was against all slavery and bondage. Although when they are more closely examined, the quotes and speeches actually leaned towards his lack of strong opinion on the outcome of slavery. Lincoln is perceived as the most famous revolutionary of American history, but he does not live up to his legacy of being the eradicator of forced servitude.

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States are the two most important documents in our Nation. It has been said that “the Declaration of Independence was the promise; the Constitution was the fulfillment.” The Founding Fathers of our nation wanted to establish a government based on individual rights and the rule of law. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution did just that. The Declaration of Independence broke all the political ties between the 13 colonies and Great Britain and set forth the ideas and principles behind a just and fair government, whereas the Constitution was the law. An outlined on how our government would work. Lincoln found a “loophole” within these two documents. During his first inaugural speech he stated “I declare that I have no purpose directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so." An interpretation that under the constitution the federal government did not have the authority to free slaves, it was up to the states to do such a thing. It was the law of the Constitution that prohibited Lincoln from freeing the slaves; however the Declaration of Independence contained the “loophole” that Lincoln needed to justify the Emancipation Proclamation; “all men are created

In the afterward to this book, author Lee Silver, professor of molecular ecology and evolutionary biology and neuroscience at Princeton, states, "My goal has been to present both the scientific and the political realities of reprogenetic technologies as I see them, along with the ethical dilemmas their use will raise. I leave it to philosophers and bioethicists to figure out how these ethical dilemmas might be resolved." As the book opens, the reader is moved scene by scene further into the future when, ultimately, the development of genetic engineering and its accessability will have formed a world even more polarized

In many popular science fiction novels, people can read about a future full of fantastic gadgets, advanced artificial intelligences, and superhuman cyborgs. Although some of these things may seem far-fetched, with recent scientific advancements, it may soon be possible for people to enjoy some the amazing technologies that they read about, such as life-extension therapies or cybernetic implants. A new philosophy known as Transhumanism has emerged in response to these innovations and has embraced this vision of a death-free future populated by enhanced posthumans. However, although many of these technologies have an enormous potential to improve the human condition, it is essential that we as a species practice discretion and moderation as

In a society where technology has advanced we will get to a period where the human body will pose limitations, where we will need to use technology to significantly modify our biological constraints. Post humanism is a change in understanding of the self and the relation we have to the natural world (Haley 1992:12). We will not discard ourselves but rather become more than we currently are. In the next few decades’ computer intelligence will exceed that of humans (Haley 1992:1). We already have technologies that can replace many of our vital organs and as technology advances we move closer towards a posthuman age, where the body will no longer be a necessity but rather a swift towards computer stimulated machines. Opportunities will arise for human conditions to be modified using technologies such as genetic engineering, changing the nature of human life and human society.

Everyone knows Thomas Jefferson as the father of “The Declaration of Independence” however, what people do not know is that even a famous man as himself had a dark side. The dark side of Thomas Jefferson by Henry Wiencek mentions slavery. As the author begins the article, he makes sure that the readers understand what he is going to be detailing through the essay. As Aristotle believed that all men are either born as kings or peasants, Jefferson changes the formula around by using the Declaration of Independence, stating that all men are created equally. The article has such a dark truth hidden behind those words “All freemen” meaning, all men should be treated justly. When the constitution was signed, Jefferson signed the paper which stated that all men are equal; however, he did not free his slaves even after his own death. Although Jefferson fought for slavery once, he started to believe that slavery would bring in the more profit for America. Thus, this resulted in more of African-American population throughout the United Stated leading the slavery to increase around America.