The United States of America is a thriving country consisting of fifty states. There are two very important documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, that shape the United States’ government. Included in these documents, are certain unalienable rights which include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, since the document was established on July 4, 1776, there is a debate on whether the United States does or does not uphold the principles of the Declaration of Independence in today’s world. The United States does uphold the principles of the Declaration of Independence to a certain extent. The Declaration of Independence is based on four basic principles. The four principles are; all men are created equally, …show more content…
The Declaration of Independence displays the importance of acquiring the consent of the governed people. The Declaration of Independence quotes, “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” The quotation discloses that the government must obtain permission from the people. This then relates to the principle of equality. The Declaration of Independence widespread the idea of democracy and allowing everyone, no matter of race or religion, to have a voice in their government. However, this concept has faded in today’s world. For example, in the 2016 presidential election, the Electoral college had the final say in the election. During the popular vote, former candidate Hillary Clinton had won the popular vote by about two million votes. The popular vote was a combination of all the people’s votes and each candidate is given “votes” according to the votes of the governed. However, on December 19, 2016, the Electoral College met to decide the future president. The Electoral College is a group of electors who have the final say who the president will be based on who wins the popular vote in each state., no matter what the results of the popular vote showed. The electoral college chose Donald Trump as the future president, regardless of the fact that Hillary Clinton won the popular …show more content…
However, accusations cause immigrants to be more cautious about traveling. Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are the basic natural rights written in the Declaration of Independence. In the historical document, it is written, “...that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” This excerpt states that we were given natural rights by the one who created us, God. However, in today’s world Americans may be limited from living this principle. For example, people might have to go through a background check in order to apply for an occupation. However, if the family had a dreadful history the applicant may not be accepted due to family issues even though he or she has changed. For example, if the family was part of a rebellious group or was a spy for another country, this would affect the applicant's chances of earning the job. On the other hand, the United States government has passed bills and laws that give many their freedom and their natural rights. For example, the sixteenth president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, issued the Emancipation Proclamation, this document freed more than three million slaves. These slaves were granted their life and their liberty from their owners. Later on, in the course of human events, many amendments were made to the Constitution on voting rights. These