The Constitution states that “all men are created equal.” How would it affect today’s social standards if the Founding Fathers had written the Declaration of Independence differently? The argument is whether the Constitution was written to protect the affluent white businessman compared to the agricultural farmers at the time. If it was written to protect the affluent upper class, then why did they write that all men are created equal? This questions the morals of the United States Constitution in which it was founded upon and whether economics became a motivating force to create a strong central government. In addition, if the Founding Father’s intentions were to write the Constitution to protect the economics interests of the upper class,
The Convention decided that freedom for property would result in the liberty for all men. Such that the Declaration of Independence was agreed upon by the Fathers as ?all men are created equal,? but only as a legal, not as a political or psychological proposition. The main emphasis was the equality between American and the Britons back home.
On the fourth of July in 1776, Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia. This historical document demonstrates how all men are created equal and are entitled to certain rights that must be protected by the government. Approximately thirteen years later, the Constitution was adopted. Attached to the Constitution was a list of amendments, written by James Madison, with the intent to protect the rights of individual liberties. Although both documents were established at different times, they share many common, similar key points. However, they also convey many differences in how the information is portrayed. The first sentence of the third paragraph of the Declaration of Independence is the more significant statement to the people of today’s era
The way the Declaration of Independence was wrote meant only about 15 percent of Americans gained full citizenship. In an article published in a 1973 issue of Maryland Historical Magazine, Linda Grant Depauw wrote that the American Revolution was about gaining and protecting the freedoms of white property-owning men – no other races, genders, ages, or social status. The other 80 percent of negroes, servants, women, and minors therefore had no “inalienable rights” from the Declaration. Besides not having rights, these individuals were unable to vote because they were not of the specified race, gender, or social status. During this time, Howard Zinn shows evidence of wealth equaling power since only property owning, white-males were entitled to inalienable rights and the right to participate in governmental affairs.
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
The Declaration of Independence was created to make sure everybody was equal. All men are created equal. Government is upholding the principles of the Declaration of Independence.
American history was directly impacted by the publishing of the Declaration of Independence as it allowed for the colonies to no longer be an entity of the British Empire. The document mirrored the feelings of many Americans during the time period, longing for their own nation and rights. Political values and ideals of equality came forth for all white men, and was the onset of the end of slavery and rights for women. The initial government created after the publishing, the Articles of Confederation, created a much different economic system focusing on the state rather than federal government after events like Shay’s Rebellion and the necessity of slavery. Socially, new classes were created for support of the war and America becoming independent,
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
The Gilded Age had many relevant people arguing about economy at that time. Three of the people that argued about economic issues in society are Sumner, Lloyd, and Carnegie. Sumner had a biased approached towards economy in favor of the powerful wealthy class. While Lloyd had a completely contradictory view from Sumner’s opposing most of Sumner’s ideas. On the other hand, Carnegie had a favorable argument for economic equality by offering help to the poor class in his way. Although these authors have opposing views on the economic inequality, they support their views with valid solutions and proposals.
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.
Referring to the Constitution of Massachusetts, all men, without distinction of race or color, are equal before the law. The Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal. Sumner builds his argument around “Equality before the law” and against the constitutionality of separate schools.
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
When the founding fathers wrote the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, they wrote them with the future in mind. In the newspaper and TV headlines today, many of the topics in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are even more relevant and hotly debated today than back then. But they each have a different purpose and handle many topics differently. This essay will compare the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in three areas: style, structure, and tone, the topic of religion and government, and the issue of African slavery.
In the case of this historical era, the people that sought to enjoy the most freedom were those who owned large industries, and received high sums of profit from their vast empires. In a sense, this was seen as a good thing some of these “captains of industry” came from immigrant backgrounds. Such an example is Carnegie who at a young age provided for his family and shortly after became a hardworking and wealthy innovator. Following in Carnegies footsteps, John D Rockefeller also came from a modest family background and worked his way up. These two examples show a small glimpse of the economic freedom that was allowed during this time period. As Foner put it in Give me Liberty! “These and other industrial leaders inspired among ordinary Americans a combination of awe, admiration, and hostility… most rose from modest backgrounds and seemed examples of how inventive genius and business sense enabled America to seize opportunities for success” (Foner, 593). Foner’s argument was based on the possibility of common wealth citizens to work hard and rise to the top in order to reach the American dream.
Continuing on with what exactly “men” means, what men were allowed to have the power in the situation given at the time The Declaration was written? Well, let’s take a look at the main author of this document, Thomas Jefferson. He was male, white, educated, a lawyer, and many other things. In other words, he had power. He had a recognizable position in government. Benjamin Franklin was male, white, educated, a well respected man, and other things. He also had power; he was appointed by the Continental Congress to help write The Declaration. Then there are men like John Hancock who signed the document itself, who were obviously important to be signing such an important piece of paper to the United States of America. What about the men who didn’t mean as much? The merchants? The farmers? The slaves? The blacks? When Jefferson states in the second paragraph “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal” does he really mean all men? Or only the men who matter? Obviously anyone of a skin color other than white were not equal. Slaves weren’t free until almost a century later when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. Even
Conformity is a concept that has been heavily researched in the field of social psychology. Conformity is defined as a change in behavior, beliefs, and attitudes due to group pressure perceived as real (encompassing the presence of others) or imagined (encompassing the pressure of social standards) (Myers, 2010, p. 192). The concept of conformity is a powerful influence on the tendency for people to arrange their thoughts, perspectives, and ideas with others, especially when in a group. This takes away from a person’s individuality because they want to feel accepted by others and therefore, a person will accomplish this basic need of approval through conforming.