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Importance Of The Declaration Of Independence

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What are the most famous and influential words in American history? Most Americans should be able to recognize this excerpt from the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, 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 Americans’ wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776 in order to free themselves from the hands of Great Britain, a nation whose government supported inequality and oppression. The Declaration of Independence also helped establish America’s government. The primary author of the Declaration of Independence was Thomas Jefferson. In the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson wrote in a list of ideals that he believed that the government should have. Jefferson states that every man is given certain unalienable rights, rights that cannot be denied. Jefferson argues that the purpose of the government should be to protect these rights. Jefferson believes that if the government fails to protect the rights of the people, the people have every right to abolish, overthrow, or change the government. Jefferson included many ideals in the document, and that raises a question: Which one of these ideals is the most important? The Declaration of Independence has many important ideals, such as the right to abolish, overthrow, or change the government and the consent of the governed; however,
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