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Declaration Of Independence: Founding Documents Still Relevant Today

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Partain 1 Colton Partain Marsha Dryden American Lit & Comp March 23, 2023 Founding Documents that shaped America It is hard to believe that documents published over 200 years ago still remain relevant today. The Declaration of Independence, written in 1776, is the document that afforded Americans the right to be separate and free from the British government. The Declaration outlined the egregious actions of British rule and established that America was now “one people''. This single document allowed America the ability to create a new government. In establishing this new government, a plan was needed to replace the Articles of Confederation which governed the states. The Constitution was born from the need …show more content…

The document outlined the fundamental rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Personal rights were not a new topic in government at the time the Bill of Rights were written. “James Madison did not come up with these rights on his own. Some were rights that were already included in some of the state’s constitutions that existed before the US Constitution. He also pulled from ideas that were brought up during the state ratifying conventions” (Donnelly 5:00). At the time the Bill of Rights were written, living with an oppressive government with minimal personal freedoms was a fresh memory. Today, we are far removed from a time when jury trials were prohibited by the British government even though it was included in the Magna Carta 1215 (“Magna Carta”). The 1765 Stamp Act forced colonists who violated the law to appear in admiralty courts with …show more content…

The Declaration empowered citizens to stand up and make changes to government while the Bill of Rights spells out our personal liberties and rights. Both documents serve as a rulebook on how we are treated by the government and continue to be an important part of America’s past and future. Partain 4 Works Cited Cost, Jay. “The Declaration of Independence More Radical than Any of the Men Who Signed It.” nationalreview.com, 2 July 2018, https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/07/declaration-of-independence-more-radical-than-its-signers/ “Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor No Taxation Without Representation.” loc.com, https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/magna-carta-muse-and-mentor/no-taxation-without-representation.html Donnelly, Tom. “Bill of Rights (Introductory Level Class)” YouTube, uploaded by National Constitution Center, 6 Apr 2022, https://youtu.be/FyH5KaJRUTs “The American Social Contact in the U.S. Declaration and Constitution.” thefounding.net, 25 July 2019,

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