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John Locke Research Paper

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“We’re all in this together, we all have to change. There’s no them and us in America. Just us.” Bill Clinton declared in 1992; amazingly 200 years previously, on June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced a resolution in the Continental Congress asserting practically the same thing as Clinton. “That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.” The colonies declared to the world, ‘hey, watch out!’ We (the colonists), are seceding from Great Britain, we reject the sovereignty of the crown. But this was just …show more content…

An alien is someone other than you or I, and “in”, or “un” means not. So inalienable/unalienable means non-transferable to others, or that our rights cannot be taken away. That my rights are my own, not yours, and vice versa. According to John Adams, “you have rights antecedent to all earthly governments rights that can not be repealed…by human law.” We the people have natural rights, such as “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. To be alien is to be a foreigner to yourself, or in this case to your own rights. Which cannot be made possible by any law. On the opposite spectrum, the government’s duty is to protect our rights, but if we don’t deserve those rights due to things we have done, does the government still have an obligation to uphold the protection of our …show more content…

As an example of rights being taken away, imagine yourself a student in high school with A’s in every class. Later in the year, the school board says it’s been decided that anyone with an A grade will be lowered to no less than a B-, and those points cut will be given to students with a lower grade. This way all grades are made the same. How would that make you feel? Personally I would argue that decision to my grave. I worked hard for that grade, and now the government is going to cut me down to a B- just to make all the grades the same so the kid who won’t work for something gets my points, which I worked hard for? Just by thinking about that I feel the sting of what I have worked for. Something I often wonder is how do today’s youth learn to work for themselves when their life is spoon fed to them? Ben Franklin emphasized “nothing is more important for public welfare than to form and train our youth in wisdom and

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After the conclusion of the French and Indian War, England attempted to increase control over its American colonies until the colonists began an armed rebellion at Lexington and Concord in 1775. John Adams, however, accurately points out that while Lexington and Concord serve as a beginning of military conflict between the colonists and their British rulers, the actual revolution took place during the previous decade. This view of the 1766 to 1775 colonial reaction to Great Britain’s reorganization of the empire is illustrated by James Otis’ essay, The Rights of the British Colonies, the Stamp Act Congress’ proposed resolutions and Benjamin Franklin’s testimony before the Parliament, and Patrick Henry’s speech to the House of Burgesses. These

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After it was distributed in the colonies, “the speech was burned in public by the soldiers…” (McCullough, p. 68). The colonists responded with defiance in the face of the massive British Empire. These men and women were “determined to shake off all connections with a state so unjust” (McCullough, p. 68). McCullough’s excellent use of proper organization brings clarity and understanding to his

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In fact, almost a year after Lexington and Concord on July 4th, 1776 the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence. One of the most important documents in American history states, “That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, Free and Independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown” (“DOI” doc. B). Too deep for the cause of independence, the Continental Congress rejected Parliament’s offer to resolve of all acts or taxes imposed on the colonies since 1763 and even grant representation for colonists as long as the ideology of the colonies being independent from Britain was no more. The British had offered everything the United Colonies asked for after the empires pitiful loss at Saratoga, though Lexington and Concord gave colonists an answer for a future with the mother

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Every year, Americans across the country gather to celebrate their independence and freedom from the British government. On July 4th, 1776, America officially declared their independance from England, and the American people would be free from British tyranny. In the beginning, the Colonists did not want to be independant from the British Government, and were happily living in America and making money and embracing their freedoms(Notes Cite). However, the British government began to take away their freedoms and their rights by using taxes and implementing acts that upset the Colonists(Notes Cites).The colonists came to America to free themselves from persecution in Britain, and to start over and create a better life for themselves. In the

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Sia Park Mrs. Jenkins APEL: Period 1 09 October 2014 “Declaration of Independence” Précis In the “Declaration of Independence”, Thomas Jefferson, an American Founding Father, propounds the statement that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as independent sovereign states, liberated from the British Empire. To sway his colleagues and citizens to declare independence, Jefferson applies rhetorical devices like allusions, imagery, and diction as well as persuasive appeals to strengthen his fight for autonomy. In this famed declaration, imagery is utilized to establish the reasons necessary for the colonies to cut political ties with Britain.

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The Declaration of Independence acts as the American Colonies’ formal set of grievances against the King of England. Before citing the injustices experienced, the statement begins with a formal introduction contending that the people have the right to create their own government when necessary. Following is a more philosophical assertion which argues that when a state begins to harm the given rights of the population, it is completely justifiable to begin a revolution to overthrow the subjugator. Next comes the list of complaints directed at the Crown, which range from the abolition of American charters to the dissolution of the Representative Houses. Finally, it concludes with a denunciation of the situation and announce the United States

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Miriam Murillo Professor Brett Bell History 110 October 5, 2015 Colonists and Independence Since the colonists came from Britain, they were under the hands of Great Britain. However their name changed to label themselves as “Americans” when they decided to fight for independence from the country that had hold them captive for years until 1776. The question is why did they decide to finally seek freedom after a long time? Based upon evidence from Martin 's A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier and our primary source Voices of Freedom the British mainland colonists decided to seek and fight for independence from Great Britain for many different reasons. These books gives us a better insight of why the colonists decided to.

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Colonists, is your freedom really worth it? The losses that we face when we separate will be detrimental. But it can all be prevented if we just stay loyal to Great Britain. One consequence we will face is death and destruction. We will be attacked by the crushing force of Britain’s army and will be hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned.

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In the “Declaration of Independence” (1776), Thomas Jefferson claims that it is absolutely imperative that the thirteen colonies of the Unites States achieve their rightful independence from the notoriously tyrannical British government. He supports this claim first by establishing the universal God-given rights of man, then by emphasizing the injustices of the British government that strip them away of those constitutional rights, and lastly by reinforcing the validity of his claim by highlighting their continuous attempts in which they tried to resolve the issue themselves with the king. Jefferson uses a logical argument to justify to the foreign countries, of their decision to break away from the British government in order to gain more

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This shows that ultimately Jefferson and the drafters of the Declaration of Independence are announcing to the world their separation from British Rule and are a free nation. The authors felt that separation was not only a necessary course of action, but the only course of

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Do you imagine to live in one of the thirteen colonies, when Great Britain requires too much and don`t led you take control of your government? Is important to feel part of a country and many persons in the colonies don’t feel part of Great Britain. The ones that want to separates from the British Empire called themselves “Patriots” and the ones that wanted to remain being part of England called themselves “Loyalists”. The Revolutionary war starts, and the Continental Congress declare that a declaration of Independence was necessary.

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Although it is difficult to choose a particular ‘starting point’ of the desire to secede in the colonies, it can be traced to over a decade before the Declaration of Independence was even written.

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The list of offenses against the colonists proceeds, with a focus on the King's attempts to undermine the governments of the colonies and the horrors of conflict that had already affected the colonists. Jefferson even addresses that for every offense against them; the colonists had tried to communicate peacefully with their oppressors but were only “answered with repeated injury.” Thomas Jefferson concludes the piece by declaring these united colonies as a “free and independent states.” This message to the King in in Europe was what the newly formed states needed to unite under one unit and to show the King of England that they were going to fight for their freedom.

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  “This is the right thing to do for myself and my country.” Soon after the signing of the Declaration the king released a statement to the representatives stating that so called colonies had declared independence. As he spoke he said that in a foolish attempt to gain independence we had inevitably doomed ourselves. However, our spirit as a country will forever keep us

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During the writing of “The Declaration of Independence”, Thomas Jefferson go to great lengths to describe why the colonies were choosing to separate themselves from Great Britain. This is done not only so readers will have a detailed description of what the American people were facing while being ruled by the King. The vivid depiction of all the cruelty he has shown towards the people. Furthermore, the lengthy, highly descriptive examination of all the wrongs and showing that the colonists made many appeals to the King but also the people of Britain that the reader now feels as if it is wrong for the Colonies to be under Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson begins by detailing the ethical standings of all people that live within the colonies.

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