The Declaration Of Independence And The Declaration Of Independence

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The Revolutionary Era No matter how many black and white pages can be written on history, history is still full of gray areas. The Revolutionary Era was indeed revolutionary, but that did not mean it was perfect either. The Enlightenment inspired the colonists to aspire for a better government; a better way of life. It led them to writing the Declaration of Independence, an ideal document freeing the new Americans. But did either the Enlightenment or the Declaration of Independence truly help all or just privileged white males? I believe it is safe to assume that nearly all Americans are familiar with the infamous “life, liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” phrase. That infamous phrase was coined by John Locke, a notable figure during the time of Enlightenment. The Enlightenment served its purpose to inspire and drastically change the pliable British colonists into strong, independent American citizens. A land with no monarch was truly a groundbreaking idea. An idea that frightened many colonists on how they could survive alone. Thomas Paine, perhaps the most notable figure of Enlightenment, chided those who believed America needed British rule to thrive in his pamphlet Common Sense by saying “We may as well assert that because a child has thrived upon milk, that it is never …show more content…

The Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson, one of the authors, used Locke’s infamous phrase to serve as a profound statement on how life as American citizens would be fundamentally different compared to life as British colonists. It is Locke’s phrase that helped the Declaration truly stand out as an original, forward thinking document. “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,

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