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The Declaration Of Independence By Thomas Jefferson

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Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence with the successful intentions of separating the colonies from King George III of Britain’s control. The document explains in great detail how King George III violated the rights and liberties of the colonists. Not only was the Declaration a way of explaining why colonists deserved independence, it also set up a safeguard against tyranny for the future of the country. Though the main goal was separating and protecting themselves from repeating issues, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration in a contradictory way that creates paradoxes that Americans must overcome in their daily lives. The main themes of the Declaration of Independence are equality, liberty and the representation…show more content…
In addition to being contradictory, this statement of equality was extremely hypocritical. In 1776 and for many years after that, the white men of America, including Thomas Jefferson, prominently owned slaves. This lead to the constant criticism that Jefferson did not actually mean to declare that all men are equal and that his intentions were to safeguard issues regarding government, not society. After making the claim of equality, Jefferson went on to claim that all men also deserve liberty and would receive that after separating from Britain. Continuing with the critical phrase in the second paragraph, the Declaration states that all men “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Jefferson claimed here that life, the right to be secure in your person, liberty, the right to act freely, and the pursuit of happiness, the right to actualize your potential, are rights that all men are born with. This statement was explained by Cicero as he asserted that “True law is right reason in agreement with nature; it is of universal application, unchanging and everlasting” and that “it is a sin to try to alter this law, nor is it allowable to attempt to repeal any part of it, and it is impossible to abolish it entirely.” King George III violated the colonists’ liberties in many ways that included enforcing standing armies without colonists’
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