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Declaration Of Independence And Jefferson: The Best Of Enemies

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At the beginning of U.S. history there were many debates on how the country should be run. People mainly argued about the balance of power between the individual person and the Federal Government. Some people and documents that addressed this issue are the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, The U.S. Constitution: Preamble and Bill of Rights, and “Jefferson: The Best of Enemies” by Ron Chernow.

In the anchor document Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson stresses that the rights of the people should take precedence over the power of the Federal Government. Jefferson states in the Declaration of Independence, “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.” By saying that people are, “Endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable …show more content…

Constitution: Preamble and Bill of Rights” the author is trying to secure the unalienable rights of the people. In the first Amendment of the U.S. Constitution it states, “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.” This Amendment gives power to the individual by prohibiting Congress from making new laws that will interfere with the freedom of speech of the people. The Preamble Constitution also reduces the power of the Federal Government by stating,” Secure the Blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” By saying this, the Constitution weakens the Federal Government by barring the government from making laws against these rights in not just the present but the future as well. Through these two pieces of evidence we are able to see that the Constitution does favor individual rights by its limiting of the Federal Government’s power and its securing of individual

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In the Deceleration of Independence, Jefferson says that if any government does not provide it’s people with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness should

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