The Declaration of Independence is a document that discusses the grievances of the colonists. It expresses the fundamental concepts that form the American nation: All beings are created free, equal, and possess the same fundamental natural rights. For centuries, many people lived as subjects and slaves to various despots, monarchs, kings and queens. Any enjoyment of life or property had to be authorized by the government, not by the rights of the people. America changed all of that. Alone among nations, America is founded on an ideology of individual rights. This philosophy transformed the world by creating what was, and still is, the greatest republic on earth. The first few paragraphs of the Declaration summarizes the essentials of …show more content…
This was made of warrants, permitting officials to search for smuggled material within any suspected premises. James Otis was an Advocate-General, who protected the warrants when it became legal. Moreever, after the Boston merchants retained him as their council to oppose the writs before the Superior Court of Massachusetts, Otis refused the offer. Otis dictated a speech that lasted five hours, who was witnessed by John Adams. He based his case on the rights guaranteed in the “English Common Law.” In this document Otis stated, “...everyman, merely natural, was an independent sovereign, subject to no law written on his heart and revealed to him by his maker, in this constitution of his nature and the inspiration of his understanding and his conscious. No creature, man or beast, had a right to take it away from him.” (pg.3, Constitution of the US) Otis is stating, that every individual has the right to own a home, have their own personal belongings, and the right of ownership. Furthermore, this is known as the Fourth Amendment of the Bill of Rights, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” (pg.1,law.cornell.edu) …show more content…
For example, the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” (pg.1,US constitution online) The first amendments addresses the idea of the list of grievances. Such as to, the right to live a life free from oppression and the right to believe in one’s own religion. Therefore, with the document of the Declaration it, emphasizes how people felt and the complaints about the King, and the changes individuals wanted to see in the nation. As one can see this was a form of freedom of speech and freedom of self-expression for the
The Declaration of Independence, Good Or Bad? The Declaration of Independence was just signed as most people should know, but what most people don't know or haven't decided is whether the Declaration is good for us and will lead to a great positive country or is it bad and not work out for us as a country. This a big decision to step away from The British Empire and try to make it on our own. What I say here and now am that I strongly believe that The Declaration of Independence is great for us as a country.
The first thing stated in the Declaration of Independence is that all people are free and equal because they were born with a certain set of rights that cannot be taken away. The Declaration of independence also states that if the government does not do their job, then the people have the right to start a new government. The Declaration of Independence expresses important ideas
Although the Declaration of Independence is now viewed as the official document that wholly released the United States from the political grasp of Great Britain, this was not the initial intended purpose of this document. In fact, at the time the first draft was written, the Colonists merely desired better treatment from the then supreme political power. Yet certain events inspired the American colonists to rethink their proposal for negotiation- events that led to revisions present in the final draft of the Declaration of Independence. As a means to ridicule Britain on its unjust principles, the Colonists imitated the British Declaration to expose Britain on its hypocritical views of equality. Therefore, it is easy to conclude that the American
Thomas Paine’s pamphlet “Common Sense,” Paine lists reasons as to why the colonies should unite and separate from England. Paine argues strongly the point of “Monarchy and Hereditary Succession” really well by explaining the state of inequality of man and the inadequacy of hereditary succession. In this section, Thomas Paine argues the ignorance of having a monarch and the biblical beliefs against it as it creates an unequal society and transgressions.
The Declaration of Independence stated the grievances that the king is found guilty and responsible. The king controlled the everyday lives of the people, restricting people from natural rights of living. The Declaration of Independence is the way to have the people to see and understand the problems of having a ruling force that limits the rights governed by a king whose power is deemed to be granted by God. Neglecting the peoples right. An Monoarchy that did not stand
One of these such heroes and leaders was Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson proved that he was a leader when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. At the time that the document was created, America was on tense relations with Great Britain, and was preparing for all out war. Before they could accomplish this, however, they needed to declare their independence from the tyranny that was the British Empire. Congress in Philadelphia selected five to draft the document in which they would declare their independence- Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Robert Livingston of New York, and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia.
The declaration of Indpeendence was the reason that America gained its own Independence from King George III. The Declaration of Independence was all about what was better for the people, the people wanted nothing more than for everyone to have equality and liberty. This document is the most importand document for us as Americans because without it we wouldn’t all be treated equally. The Declaration of Independence is the reason we gained Independence of the Thirteen colonies from Great Britaian.
The main teaching of the Declaration centers on defining the equality and natural rights of man. It is against the rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness that the Declaration weighed the actions of the British, and reached the conclusion that declaring independence was justified. The right to life essentially means that a free, independent man has the right to protect his own life. The Founding Fathers accused George III of Britain of violating this right in several clauses, at one point stating he “destroyed the lives of our people.” The right to liberty means that each man is at liberty to follow their own will in all things that the natural law has not prohibited.
The Declaration of Independence is the most influential document ever written. Although its’ main purpose was to declare separation of the 13 colonies from Britain, the document did much more. This declaration shaped the American government, defined American values, and articulated and protected our rights. In addition, the document initiated an 8-year war (the American Revolution, 1775-1783) and legitimized freedom for an incalculable number of causes for equality of race, sex, class, occupation, religion, age, and religion.
The convenient thing about this is that you can do as you please without the worry of the government trying to disrupt your peace. It also helps people of color feel protected from police officers who could be racist, and just want to go through their belongings to arrest them. Another advantage to this is that you don 't have to let police officers inside of your home if you don 't please to do so. However, the downside to this amendment is that valuable time to police officers is wasted since they have to wait for a search warrant to proceed with their job. Another downside is that if they do happen to search someone without a warrant and they find what they were looking for it won 't be able to be used as evidence against the
The English Bill of Rights derived from Great Britain, and was passed by Parliament in 1689; due to James II’s unjustifiable actions to “subvert and extirpate the Protestant religion and the laws and liberties of this kingdom”, the English Bill of Rights was established to declare rights to citizens of Great Britain, and allow William and Mary to reign (“Bill of Rights 1689”). Correspondingly, the English Bill of Rights is in enact today just like the U.S. Constitution. Thereupon, some key points from the English Bill of Rights were transcribed into Constitution. The English Bill of Rights asserted, “That the freedom of speech…not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament” and “That it is the right of the subjects to petition the king, and all commitments and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal”, and these statements help crafted the First Amendment of the American Bill of Rights (“Bill of Rights 1689”). Amendment I of the Bill of Rights allows American citizens to have “the freedom of speech…and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Freedom A poll taken shows a whopping 49 percent of Americans believe that the constitution needs to be updated and less old fashioned. Why should the constitution not be updated? The right to bear arms, have freedom of religion, and speech are all examples of why our constitution should be left and appreciated for what it is.
The fourth of july in 1776 America declared independence. A nation once wrought with suppressive, autocratic control of a king who had little interest in the welfare of his colonial subjects, began to shed its repressive chains and step aboard the ship of liberty with an impregnable hull. The banners waved. The crowds cheered. Then, the blood soaked the continent.
The Declaration Of Independence was an image all colonists wanted to live up to. They wanted all men equal, and the government to be fair. The American Revolution was a political upheaval that took place between 1765 and 1783.The Declaration stated all of this and the colonists said it would be. After securing enough votes for the passage, independence was voted for on July 2nd. The Declaration Of Independence, drafted largely by Thomas Jefferson, marked the formation of a new sovereign nation, which called itself the United States Of America.
The Declaration of Independence 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." The Declaration of Independence is a written version of our rights as humans in America. It is saying that every person is equal, with equal opportunities. The people are given rights at birth that can not be taken away. The document gives all the “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as basic human rights.