...The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in our history. Everything said in the Declaration of Independence is very relevant, however; equality is the most important. The declaration of independence stated 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” Meaning that all people should receive the same rights, and be treated as equals. This is so important because everyone deserves the same rights. In document A Diana Pham a Vietnamese refugee, expressed how grateful she was of the equality given to her and her family. She said “America has given our family the chance to become whatever we choose...
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...The Declaration of Independence is the most important document in our nation’s history. The founding fathers of our country wrote the declaration as a way of stating what was wrong with England, and why they felt like they could form a better country. This document illustrates many ideals that we still try to uphold today, such as the equality of all people, the right to alter or abolish our government, and the unalienable rights that all people have. However, the most significant ideal in the declaration is that authority comes from the consent of the governed. While the other ideals are undoubtedly important, it is possible that the declaration would not have been written at all if the American colonies had representation in England’s parliament....
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...Revolution Ideals Argument America was officially independent on July 4, 1776 by the signing of the Declaration of Independence. After America won the revolution there was a very weak national government that was based on the ideals of the revolution. The Articles of Confederation failed making America vulnerable to collapse. The constitution was then written using the same ideals of the revolution, which were the rights of the people, the enlightenment, and the want to be an independent country. The Constitution took these ideals and used them to make a strong successful national government. One ideal reflected by the constitution was the rights of the people of the United States. This ideal had been an ideal of the people ever since the...
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...Have you ever thought about what life would be like without the decleration of independance and its ideals? On July 4th 1776 the foundation of our country was created. The declaration of independence was a letter to britain explaining why the colonies should break away. Of the four main ideals in the declaration of independence which ones are the most important? The ideals that will be addressed in this DBQ are the ideals of equality, natural rights, and the consent of the governed. Tis DBQ will focus on determining why these ideals are as important as they are. The first ideal being touched on is the ideal of natural rights. The declaration of independence states that “They (the american people) are endowed by their creator with certain...
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...What is Fourth of July Really About? What do people know about the, Declaration of Independence? The signing of the Declaration of Independence was always questioned. The date that is used is the Fourth of July 1776. It had 56 different signatures on it. In the passed people did not freedom or equality. Before Americans were not Americans, they were British. Before Americans governed themselves, they were governed by a distant a British King. Before America was an independent state, it was a dependent colony. Before Americans claimed equal rights, they were subject to British rights. What brought about these transformations? It was all changed by one speech in 1776, The Declaration of Independence. It was important to the colonies, because the British were not controlling them anymore. They did not have to follow the British rule. The Declaration of Independence is the most powerful document ever written, because it helped the United States and foreign countries, led to independence, and men were created equal....
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...“John Locke vs. Thomas Jefferson” John Locke's Second Treatise of Government and Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence are two of the most significant texts of all time. Many countries around the world have used these texts as the foundation for their declaration of independence. These authors laid the base for the knowledge of the State of Natural Rights of human being which is the establishing bases of our government. We can understand that The Second Treatise of Government and the Declaration of Independence are very identical in their message, which clearly substantiate Locke's work influenced Jefferson. Unpredictably as it is, Jefferson has been suspect over the times for plagiarizing John Locke. The most significant similarity between both writings is that they are strongly focused on the belief that all men are created equal and have the right to be happy in their life. Locke enlightens us that humans have natural rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of property. Jefferson restates this claim as absolute rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Simply both documents mention that no person is above or superior to another person and that everyone is equal. The natural law of man is not under the authority of man, but ruled by the Natural Laws. Also they state that those natural rights...
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...Adrian Lurie 12/13/11 Per. 1 Self-Evidence In 1776, the Deceleration of Independence was signed by our founding fathers. This document had been previously written to break free from the grip of Britain and become an autonomous nation. It obtained the most fundamental ideas of our country, and helped shape what it is today. The most important group of ideals in this Declaration was the self-evident truths, which stated essential laws about man and its organization. These self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence were derived from the ideals of natural rights, an undefined Creator, and establishing government. Throughout the history of the world, natural rights have been widely believed in, and were a large factor in the creation of our country. One source that shares the ideas of the Declaration is Cicero’s De Legibus, in which Cicero wrights that man, “has been given certain distinguished status…” This directly relates to the self-evident truths, meaning that Man has been given special rights and is therefore above all the other animals. Another example of natural rights in history is the signing of the Magna Carta. The king acknowledged that he had been repressing people’s natural rights, so they created the Magna Carta to protect them. This is yet another example from which the Declaration of Independence claimed ideas. Finally, the famous philosopher John Locke, “called the new-born mind a tabula rasa, a blank slate.” He believed that all men were created...
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...The Declaration of Independence can be divided into four main parts. The first part is an introduction that states the purpose of the document, which was to explain why the American people were declaring independence from the government of Great Britain. The second part is a theory of good government and individual rights generally accepted by Americans from the 1770s until today. In this theory, all individuals are equal in their possession of certain immutable rights. These rights are not granted by the government. Rather, they are inherent to human nature. Therefore, the first purpose of a good government is to secure or protect these rights. Further, a good government is based on the consent of the governed -- the people -- who are the sole source of the government's authority. If their government persistently violates this theory of good government, then the people have the right to overthrow it. The third part of the document is a list of grievances against King George III, who was singled out to represent the actions of the British government. These grievances are examples of actions that violated the criteria for good government stated in the second part of the Declaration of Independence. These grievances, therefore, justify separation from the King's bad government and establishment of a good government to replace it. The fourth and final part of the document is an unqualified assertion of sovereignty by the United States of America. It proclaims the determination of...
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...July 4th, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was signed, uniting the country from its previous undivided state, and cutting the rein from the tyrannical oppression from Great Britain. It marked us as our own sovereign country, and transitioned us into what later would become a world power. Therefore, throughout the Declaration of Independence the philosopher John Locke influenced and shaped important aspects with his principles of natural rights which even encompasses limited government and popular sovereignty. Natural rights are exactly what they say. Rights that an individual is immediately born with and will stay with yourself until you die. The three vague terms found in lines one and two of the declaration of rights. "Endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; among these are life, liberty, and the...
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...from the Text of The Declaration of Independence Abstract The Declaration of Independence is a statement of the American Revolutionary War and also an important defense of bourgeois rights. Studying carefully American cultural values from The Declaration of Independence, we can better understand the core of our Chinese cultural values and get to know the main differences and similarities between these two value systems. In this way, we will find all the advantages and disadvantages regarding both cultural values, and thus learn those good ones while overcome the shortcomings. This thesis falls into five chapters. In the first chapter, the necessity and significance of the study are introduced. In Chapter Two, some definitions of key terms included in or related to this thesis are presented, including Value, Cultural Value and The Declaration of Independence. Chapter Three mainly concerns the analysis of the text of The Declaration of Independence. By analyzing the text, the main cultural values related are demonstrated as liberty, equality and democracy. Then each cultural value is explained respectively and thoroughly with proper examples. Chapter Four mainly discusses the contradictions and conflicts inherent in those American cultural values, showing that American cultural values is a double-edged sword. The last chapter is the conclusion part which summarizes the whole thesis. Key Words: American, The Declaration of Independence, cultural values Contents ...
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...Angela Cole HIST101 American History to 1877 Prof. Traci Sumner 13 November 2011 Cole 2 Just about everyone is familiar with the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776. The Declaration of Independence gave thirteen colonies freedom from England's laws. We as Americans celebrate this day every year, and July 4th is known as Independence Day. The purpose of the document was to announce the colonies' independence to the world and list the reasons why the American Revolutions was legitimate. By the time the Declaration of Independence was adopted in July 1776, the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain had been at war for more than a year. Relations between these two countries had been deteriorating since the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763. Throughout history, there were very few documents that changed the way our nation views politics and carry on with our everyday lives. The Declaration of Independence changed the course of history by giving America freedom from Great Britain. 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. One of the best known sentences in the English language comes from the Deceleration of Independence (Lucas). The passage has often been used to promote the rights of marginalized people throughout the world, and came to represent a moral standard...
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...The United States of America was shaped and defined by just one document, The Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence was written to explain why colonists needed to be independent from Britain. This document contains an explanation for the separation from Britain, ideals about the government, and grievances towards the British. Ideals given in this document include equality, natural rights, consent of the governed, and the right to alter or abolish the government. Of the four main ideas, the most important one is equality. An important ideal is consent of the governed. This ideal delivers a message of how the ruling of the government should be based on the citizens. Consent of the governed is very important because without it brings chaos. “In 1989, Chinese students who had gathered in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square adopted the Statue of Liberty… as a symbol of their demands of truth, freedom, and democracy from their government…(Doc C).” Consent of the governed lets citizens have a say in government by allowing them to participate by voting for presidents or even just cooperating with the government. Without consent of the governed, citizens would be mislead without any say in every decision made because they had no rule in it. Consent of the governed is a...
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...The Constitution of the United States upholds the ideals of the American Revolution. The Constitution secures the rights of men, prevents a monarchy, and gives the people the right to modify or eliminate government and establish a new government. The American Revolution was about removing Great Britain’s control of the colonies. The Declaration of Independence is the result of the America Revolution and the purpose was to establish that the American colonies were no longer under the control of Great Britain and instruct on how to form a government. The Constitution was the laws in which the United States of America would function as a nation and how to form their government. The Declaration of Independence is a passionate document that details the rights of men and how Great Britain had violated those rights. Hancock...
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...This is why he committee chose Jefferson.. Thomas Jefferson wanted Adams to be the actual author of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson didn’t use a computer to help him write the Declaration of Independence. It took Jefferson seventeen days to finish. Thomas Jefferson was surrounded by inspiring people like George Mason. Like Jefferson, Mason was a plantation owner in Virginia. Mason was the first to suggest that pursuing happiness was an important right. The Declaration of Independence is a famous document for many reasons. It declared the colonies independence from Britain. and declared our need of basic rights and liberties for Americans. Jefferson's words have been used in many ways in history for an example in Martin luther King Jr speech. And he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. In his famous speech he repeated the ideals “that all men are created...
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...equality of African Americans. In the speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July”, he discusses the meaning of the fourth of July to Americas black population which consists of mostly slaves. Douglass believes that people who are still enslaved should not celebrate the white man’s freedom. Slave are not free therefore they should not rejoice in festivities not designed for them. Secondly, he condemns the church for not speaking out against slavery. Douglass gives the title “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” because he wants others to view the lack of equal rights, democracy and freedom of the very people who are oppressed: Slaves....
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