Dbq Essay On The Declaration Of Independence

Essay Question #1 The British colonies in America were tried of the unfair and unreasonable demands placed upon them by Great Britain. The citizens of the colonies were denied their fundamental rights, and were trampled upon by King George III and his British Parliament. In order to free themselves of England’s rule, a group of American colonists fashioned the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was written as a rallying call, to the colonists so they could band together and end the imperial rule enforced by Great Britain. Also, the declaration was written to list all of the grievances and unjust laws the king burdened them with. “In order to place before mankind the common sense of the matter in terms so plain

10 and no. 51 Madison discusses the threat of “factions” which we know today as special interest groups. Factions, which are defined as a group of people; either a majority or a minority that share the same views or are united by the same interests and desires. Madison points out that the most common creator of factions is the gap in wealth, or the rich vs the poor and that that men are inherently selfish and that forming factions amplifies the influence. Madison also states that if a faction gains political power, it can create corruption that’ll destroy the goals of society and the public good. According to Madison there are two solutions to combat faction; controlling the causes and controlling the effects of factions. Throughout Federalist no. 10 Madison discusses ways to control the causes of factions forming. His first suggestion is to eliminate the freedom that allows factions to exist, this would not work as its worse that having a faction. Another way is for everyone to have the same passions, this is impossible because not everyone can have the same opinions. Madison comes to the conclusion that factions are inherent in human nature and the only way is to control the

He also states that a government needs to be created that is strong enough to govern the people but also to control itself, “you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself”. In order to accomplish this Madison purposes the idea of checks and balance “ambition must be made to counteract ambition”.

Essay Question #4 On December 15, 1791 the Bill of Rights was added to the United States Constitution. The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments. The second amendment protects the right to bear arms to Americans, but is this amendment still viable today? This amendment has become even more controversial recently due to the countless public shootings. Well before America fought for its independence, the right to bear arms was given freely to English settlers. But, as time progressed and England passed unjust laws oppressing American colonists the right to bear arms faded. It was introduced as an amendment to the constitution because at that time, society didn’t have a police force (they did however have state run militias) and people had to defend themselves. The framers of the constitution believed in self-defense, and used the existing definition of right to bear arms from the English Law and applied it to the