The Declaration of Independence and the Struggle for Equality DBQ

The Declaration of Independence was written on a strong foundation of structuring the nation that we live in, securing a certain number of inalienable rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Perhaps what the authors had in mind was to personally interfere with people’s lives to secure these inalienable rights, but that has certainly changed in our society based on economic, political, and social changes. The government should protect these rights for the people because we have thrived as a nation because of feelings of security, prosperity, and nationalism. As our population grows on a steep incline, our population consists of more diverse and outgoing political believers. If the government were to interfere to secure out

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.

The Declaration of Independence is one of the most significant documents in the history of the United States. It has completely and forever changed the structure and foundation of our country. The Declaration gave purpose to the Revolutionary war. It was a justified reason to revolt against a government that no longer assured us our rights. It shows that they didn't go to war without

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

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.

the thought od full human equality has beena major bequest (and ageing change) of the Declaration of Independence. however the signers of independence. however the signers of 1776 failed to have quite that radical associate degree agenda directly. Jefferson provides the classic example of the contradictions of the Revolutionary Era. though he was the chief author of the Declaration, he additionally in hand slaves, as did several of his fellow signers. They failed to see full human equality as a positive social goal. President of the United States was ready to Criticize slavery rather more directly thane most of his colleagues. His Original draft of the Declaration enclosed a protracted passage that condemned King George for permitting the slave traffic to flourish.This understood Criticism of slavery a central establishment in early yankee Society-was deleted by a vote of the Continental Congress before the delegates signed the Declaration. therefore what did the signers intend by exploitation such idealistic language? that every one men area unit created equal. therefore area unit life, Liberty and also the pursuit of Happiness.”The Declarations of Independence and Its de jure “When within the Course of human events. It becomes necessary for one individuals to dissolve

Egalitarian is the belief in the equality of all people, especially in political, economic, or social life. (Dictionary.com, 2011) As the Declaration of Independence suggests, every man in America does start out with rights like any other man. What they do with these unalienable rights, though, is what determines their social, financial, and political prominence later in life. America allows the freedom for people to get ahead by creating their own opportunities, and by creating an equal platform of education to jump off of.

Individual rights and forming a lasting union is what keeps the laws and the lives of people balanced and safe in America. The Declaration of Independence, by Thomas Jefferson, firmly states 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.” This statement by Jefferson states that all men and women have equal rights and if the government were to go against these rules, the people can alter or abolish it, balancing between preserving individual rights and forming a strong, lasting union. Furthermore, The Declaration of Independence outlines a series of violations of people’s rights that the King of Great Britain, George III, caused by a repeated history of “injuries and usurpations”, as stated in The Declaration of Independence, to the states and overall the people. With the

“The Declaration of Independence”. Philadelphia: Second Continental Congress. 1776. Print. This document was written by the Thomas Jerfferson, it gives us the overview of all the unfair actions that the thirteen colonies had to suffer under British rule. The thirteen colonies didn’t want to be under British rule because they disagreed to most of the laws that were passed that took away from their freedom. The colonists would write to King George but they would get ignored. This document is most useful to us Americans now because if they wouldn’t have fought to get their independence, we wouldn’t be where and how we are right now. This document is organized by the different complaints they had against the British Parliament such as the different acts that were imposed in them without their say in it, and ends with them saying the colonists are free from British rule. Although this document was written in 1776, it is still valid because we live by the independence and celebrate it. The potential use of this document within my argument is that freedom means way more than we think it means. Meaning that we don’t take it into consideration of all the hard work that these colonists went through just to be free, it wasn’t just over night, it took time. The assumed audience of the Declaration of Independence should still be us Americans because we still have troops that help us fight for our freedom in the wars. All this is because of this document, it has put a

The first sentence of the third paragraph in the Declaration of Independence uses strong and powerful wording to inspire the people. The Declaration states, “...they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...” this section gives the people the security they need, it gives them God-given rights with the knowledge that no one can take them away. The Declaration also uses very powerful wording, making the reader feel as though the document is undoubtedly true, and that their rights cannot be stripped from them;

The Declaration of Independence -- the first discourse of a united America -- documents the atrocities committed by the tyrant, King George. The document not only reflects the ideas and feelings of its authors, but also represents the first example of the American Spirit -- comprised of civil liberties and self-determination. The authors’ divisive rhetoric puts more distance between their views and King George’s policy than the Atlantic Ocean that separates them. With every word, the authors advocate for a rebellion that would put an end to a government where they are voiceless. The document provides probable cause for every American to declare war on the harsh limitations imposed by the British Crown.

The Declaration of Independence has influenced the United States Constitution in many ways. In the Declaration the government was “corrupt” and unjust, it was also written as if we were united but that was not true and the Constitution justifies these wrongs. This paper will explain how the United States Constitution was influenced by the Declaration of Independence because the king was not doing his job and by implying that all men are created and treated equally.

According to Document 5, (Anti-Slavery Almanac,1839) ¨Peter John Lee, a free colored man of Westchester Co., N.Y, was kidnapped by Tobias Boudinot, E. K. Waddy, John Lyon, and Daniel D. Nash of N.Y.,city, and hurried away from his wife and children into slavery.¨.This quote demonstrates that African Americans were not treated as free men, but still being kidnapped and forced back into slavery. As stated in the Preamble of the United States Declaration of Independence, ´´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. ´´¨This shows that the Declaration of Independence fulfills the Ideals of freedom not for every man, but for white males.

"All men are created equal..." is what the original Declaration of Independence expresses. Is that an ideal that this outstanding nation has followed through the years or, perhaps, it is just a measly sentence on a piece of old paper? The United States of America has always considered itself greater than other nations, especially at giving people their deserved freedom. The American people have gone a long way to acquire their freedom, however. There are even people, here, who still struggle for it. To regain their freedom, the African American people went through desolate lives of slavery and then endured the brutal American Civil War, which may be one of the bloodiest wars in US history. After that, all slaves in America were considered free. Black men in America still couldn't vote, however, until Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment in 1869. Even so, the amendment only gave white and black men the ability to vote. Women were still considered property of men, which eventually led to the Woman's Suffrage Act. The US has struggled long and hard to realize one of the key principles in the founding of this extraordinary nation; the

In 1780, George Mason, who was the author of the Virgina bill of rights and a plantation owner of 118 slaves, wrote: “All men are by nature equally free and independent” (Rawls, pg. 187). He was not thinking about the slaves though. He was thinking about white Americans, that they are equal to the British and should have the same rights as them. When other Virgina legislators saw this, they added “Slaves, not being constituent members of our society, could never pretend to any benefit from such maxim” (Rawls, pg. 187). A month later, the Declaration of Independence