...Impendence, the Declaration of Independence etc. influences the understanding of the US today. America has been independence since 1776 and the idea of the US has followed it the whole way through until now and definitely the way forward. I have always seen The US as a great country, a superpower which always stands in the front of their beliefs and the worlds. The US is in one way the centre of the world and always has the leading part. I have never seen the US as a country far away from my own, Denmark, but the culture is a total difference anyway. The history of the US has influenced the understanding of the US in every way; in values and in beliefs. The whole concept in how and what the Americans aims at can you find in a document adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776. The declaration of Independence have sat the goal for this nation, Gods Nation, and marked every important speech, speaker and every American. “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.”(Declaration of Independence) The declaration of Independence sets the standard in the very beginning of text. The document contented many of the ideas that separated the US and the other colonies from England and thus began the process of creating the US, a free country. Religion or freedom of religion was a core idea in the declaration. The declaration wrote and...
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...drafters of the Declaration of Independence are clear throughout the work and are still relevant today in American Political Society. The Declaration of Independence was heavily influenced by a variety of documents, philosophies, history, culture, economics. There is the history of how the Declaration of Independence came about before it was pushed for. The Declaration declared that the thirteen American colonies would regard themselves as independent sovereign states no longer under British rule. The thirteen American colonies had been at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain. At the time, England was a monarchy overseen by the Catholic church. The Magna Carta served...
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...time, I understand them more in depth. The Declaration gave us our independence from the British, and this is why we have Independence Day on July 4th. The Constitution was written to give the government a little more strong hold on laws and regulations. The letter to the Danbury Baptist was written to inform the people that there would be a separation between “church and state” keeping the government out of religion. These three articles seem as though they have nothing in common…. The Declaration of Independence was written first, on July 4, 1776. The U.S. Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787. In both of these documents citizens were obligated to support the government as long at it was not restraining them from their freedom, and correct or remove it when it was. The Declaration was written to notify the monarchy that the United States was no longer a British colony. The Declaration of Independence listed reasons why the United States decided to cut ties to the British and was now its own country with its own government. The Constitution outlines the most important government laws and citizen rights. Some of the laws of the Constitution seem to be based off of the listed reasons in the Declaration of Independence. The Constitution was approved through a vote from the states, and the United States Federal Government was created. This is the same Government that exist today. If it wasn’t for the Declaration of Independence cutting ties with the British...
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...Thomas Jefferson was a fundamental source in writing the Declaration of Independence. "Jefferson was influential as an advocate of democracy in the early years of the United States . . . " (Herold 19). He wrote the Declaration of Independence to address the King of Britain, the colonists, and the people because the rights of the people were being threatened by the very government that was meant to protect them. Jefferson began the document by stating his purpose: to explain why the Americas wanted to separate from Great Britain. Following the introduction, Jefferson focused a large portion of the Declaration of Independence in listing facts and reasons that served to reinforce the desire for separation. The first example that lead to my conclusion...
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...Tea Party, Declaration of Independence, and Katsushika Hokusai’s art, The Great Wave, were three of the greatest outcomes during the time period when the United States was just being found. The significance of the Boston Tea Party, The Declaration of Independence, and The Great Wave and their impact on society today will be discussed in this course paper. The Boston Tea Party is often referred to by John Adams as “The destruction of the Tea in Boston” (Boston Tea Party Facts, American Revolution). The Bosten Tea Party was a political protests by the Sons of Liberty in Boston on December 16, 1773. This act served as a protest against taxation. The colonists believed that they were being unfairly taxed by the British to...
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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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...amongst the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The Declaration comes off as a “passionate outcry of abuse and emancipation for the colonists (Hornberger, 2001),” while the Constitution avoids the Revolution inspired tone that is present in the Declaration. Combined, the Declaration and the Constitution gave way to a liberal government. The tone of the Declaration is one of pure emotion that resulted in a set of events that left the colonists not only furious, but desperate to break away from Great Britain as well. The Declaration of Independence contains a long list of allegations from the colonists regarding abuse, stating that King George III of Great Britain was responsible for them. The fear of these abuses occurring within the newly found country of America is the reason that the Bill of Rights was formed. A majority of the first ten amendments to the Constitution are responses to specific, British abuses. For example, in regards to the “charge of King George III making judges dependent on his will alone, as well has his denial of the right to a trial by jury (Hornberger, 2001),” the Constitution states that all citizens shall enjoy the right to a "speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed." By stating that defendants shall be tried in the district in which the supposed crime was committed, the authors of the Bill of Rights were also addressing a separate issue from the Declaration in which...
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...Constitution Paper Nikki Collins HIS/115 Amy Obszarski 9/7/2013 The Constitution was a big part in making the United Stated of America. It did a lot in setting rules as well. The Constitution addressed many things: weakness, complaints, and representation. All of these would make many different things come together to what we see today in our society. The help of the Constitution brought together the government and made it fair to the states and people. This is what we see in the government today and it is also what we know. The Declaration of Independence was also a great aspect in the United States. It also had grievances; these grievances would be helped by the Constitution. In the Declaration of Independence there was a problem with taxes, “For imposing taxes on us without our consent.” This was very troubling to the colonists. So the Constitution stopped this, “congress has the power to collect taxes.” Since the Declaration says “for cutting off trade with all parts of the world.” “Congress has the power to regulate trade.” Also military “congress has the power to declare war…rise and support armies.” As well as Amendment three “no soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered into any house, without the consent of the owner, or in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.” There are weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation that the Constitution addressed. In this way the Constitution became Supreme law, levy taxes, regulate trade with...
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...very important to the Framers were limited government, representative government, the balance of power, and separation of powers. Give examples of these ideas from English government. • Colonial governments illustrated English ideas of good government. Describe the similarities between the colonial governments and the English government? • For most of the colonial period, the colonists considered themselves to be loyal subjects of Great Britain. Why do you think they felt this way? What happened to change the feelings of many colonists? • What was the purpose of the Declaration of Independence? • What is the purpose of government as described in the Declaration of Independence? How is this purpose similar to or different from the purpose of government described by the natural rights philosophers? • What does the Declaration say people have a right to do if a government is destructive of their rights? Is this true today? Why or why...
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...March 17, 2012 Ivy Bridge College Declaration of Independence This was one of the most upsetting essays I have ever read. I could not help but feel extremely emotional as I was awakened by the sacrifices these great heroes had to endure in order for us to be free. Most of us have heard about the Declaration of Independence throughout our lives, and some may have actually read it. However, I cannot help but wonder just how many of us knew the sacrifices and heartache that the signors had to endure. This was for the implementation of the most famous and important document in American history. Fifty-six courageous men risked their lives for their country to take part in the progress of the Declaration of Independence. They risked being hung to death for treason if they were caught. They each felt the document to be a necessity, for in order for our country to become free. These men were hunted, forced to live in caves and in the woods. They had become poverty-stricken. Their wives were brutally treated. Rutledge, Middleton and, Heyward were prisoners of war. These courageous men lost their homes, their loved ones and even their lives for the American people to be free. We should be indebted to them for their sacrifices for us. My heart hurts as I see what condition our world is in today. The American people, I believe have forgotten what the Declaration of Independence stands for. It is our rights – our right to speak freely, our right to act freely; it is our FREEDOM...
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...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 equal, and were born with innocent minds that could only be corrupted or changed through experience in the world. These references to natural rights in history are important parts to how the founding fathers shaped the Declaration of Independence. Religion has always played...
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...Good morning everyone. Today my group and I stand in front of you today to speak about the Declaration of Independence. Now Im sure you all know what it is but after doing research on this topic I’m happy to share information with you all that you probably haven’t heard before. What I want you all to take away from this presentation is what the document stands for, and what sacrifices were made by the people who put a signature on that document to give us a better life today, for they risked not only their lives but their families lives as well…. Problems between America and Great Britain had been in the making for some time prior to 1776, when our declaration was declared. King George III had been accustomed to taking advantage of the colonies, and people were beginning to get extremely dissatisfied and upset. Incidents such as the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea party were some of the actions taken by Americans to show their unhappiness with the English Parliament, and were in a state of rebellion. So we are now in 1776. A group of politicians come together to plot what turns out to be a revolution. A man by the name of Thomas Jefferson was appointed to write why a break from King George was necessary. In just under three weeks the first draft was written, then revised by Mr. Hundred Dollar Bill, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston. This document is probably the most important document in American history, because it defines and commemorates...
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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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...How does the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech compare and contrast? Any half-sensible American should at least be able to tell you that they are all crucial pieces of America’s development as a nation, and that they all had different authors and intents. To compare and contrast them effectively, each piece’s purpose, the effect of the document/speech, and the author’s writing style must be analyzed. Each document was written under vastly differing circumstances. In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was constructed by our Founding Fathers to combat the oppressive power of King George and separate ties with Britain. In 1863 the Gettysburg Address was given by President...
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...The Declaration of Independence is a document that officially states that the thirteen colonies in war are declaring their Independence and breaking free from the British law. The King wanted to raise taxes. The colonies didn’t like the king’s unfair laws and how he treated people. He stopped transporting tea to the colonies. The colonies were not free and the king ruled over them. This document says that the King of England can not rule over the colonies anymore. King George the III of Great Britain ruled at the time the colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. John Hancock was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence. He wrote his name large enough that people...
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