The Declaration of Independence While writing the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson foresaw the potential for immense transformations for the United States. He envisioned a country separate from the dictatorial English rule. "The Declaration embodied many of the ideas that separated the colonies from England and thus began the process of creating a new country out of the fray." (Unknown, p.2) However, creating a new country was no easy task. Many ideas that were presented in the document were considered very radical and facilitated the expansion of a democracy. Within this paper the radical themes of freedom of religion, democracy vs. monarchy, and taxation without representation will be analyzed and discussed. In a monarchial society, independence is limited, if present at all. The people were ruled by the inherited leader and were forced to follow the ways of their rulers. They were in a sense, slaves to the sovereign; where they were required to participate in the religious conviction of the preferred beliefs. Just imagine what it must feel like to be forced to believe or follow a way of life that is contradictory to your own true way of life. When it is thought about on a personal level, it is no wonder why this "radical" idea was included in this document of freedom. The sole purpose of freedom of religion was to separate church and state. This was a very radical movement because the combination of church and state was standard for the colonists. Although this was a positive change for the settlers, they had trouble grasping the concept of the separation. Thus this transformation took a very long time to transpire. Thomas Jefferson strongly believed that it is the right of each individual person to decide for them what religion they chose to follow. The following citation is a direct quote from Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence explaining his views on this issue. " the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation." "that to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. " (Jefferson, p.1, 1776) Thomas Jefferson was very adamant about breaking away from English rule and constructing a government that was "for the people, by the people." "He felt that men should not be subject to the hierarchy that was the foundation for a monarchical government, such as the one that England had used unsuccessfully with the colonists in the new world.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident. that all men are created equal, ...Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” (Jefferson 770). Thomas
From 1786-1800, James Madison and other political theorists, wrote eighty-five federalist papers explaining issues on our country and urging people to reconnect with the new constitution. In Federalist paper 10, Madison illustrates that with government and the way that we think about who we look up to in terms of rights has strengthened a divide in mankind. “A common passion or interest will, in almost every case, be felt by a majority of the whole; a communication and concert result from the form of government itself,” (Madison: The Federalist 10). James Madison ties with Jefferson in his opinion about how religion and government do not mix well. He does not tolerate when an argument between a citizens beliefs and the law becomes a problem because it clearly states in the Constitution that “Congress shall make no law respecting a religious movement” (Americans United) In Federalist paper 51, Madison also expresses on how being under the same ruling and in the same environment we have to learn to listen to both sides of the story. “In a free government the security for civil rights must be the same as that for religious rights. It consists in the one case in the multiplicity of interests, and in the other in the multiplicity of sects,” (Madison: The Federalist 51). The way that Jefferson and Madison compare is through the way that they think things should be perceived, such as,
When looking at the Declaration of Independence and the justifications which Jefferson used in order to encourage the dissolve of the ties between the United Colonies and Great Britain, it becomes apparent how much of the theories of John Locke that Jefferson used as the basis for his argument. Focusing particularly on the second paragraph of the Declaration, the arguments for the equality of each man and the formation and destruction of governments come almost directly from Locke's Second Treatise of Government. The other arguments in the Declaration of Independence deal primarily with each citizen's rights and the natural freedoms of all men, two areas that Locke also spent much time writing on.
The character of the United States is illuminated by the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson wanted to build a government where people are free and where the government “derives its power from the consent of the governed and it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it” (Jefferson, 247). T...
... different. While Locke stated people formed a government to avoid war and protect rights, it appeared Jefferson was giving excuses to go into war to protect their rights. Locke also went on to describe the natural law of nature whereas a man is given the right to his property and any man who imposed on another man’s property was inclined to receive punishment. Jefferson took this idea to another level in the Declaration of Independence by listing the abuses of the King and Parliament. Jefferson showed that because of the failure of the British Government to protect the colonists’ rights to life, liberty and property (pursuit of happiness) even in the state of nature where man has to obey natural law, it was inevitable that the colonist would have to declare war on the British for violating their unalienable rights and even more so as the British citizens.
An enlightened figure of liberal and rational eighteenth century thought, Jefferson wholeheartedly championed the concept and principle of natural rights ¡°as derived from the laws of nature¡± (Summary View). He also believed that given ¡°the nature of things, every society¡± must naturally have some form of ¡°legislature¡± and government (Summary View), and ¡°that the will of the majority should always prevail¡± (Letter to Madison). Jefferson believed it was critical to submit absolutely to ¡°the decisions of the majority,¡± which is the ¡°vital principle of republics, from which there is no appeal but to
When Thomas Jefferson entered office in 1800, he came in with lots of new ideas and goals as the president. Jefferson believed in a smaller central government with stronger state governments. He was a Republican and favored the view of strict construction. He believed that, “Our country is too large to have all its affairs directed by a single government…” (Document A). Jefferson and his Republican party believed in a government that was going to work for the people and that was going to have them at its best interests. That is why they believed in having stronger state governments, they were closer to home and to the people they were governing, therefore they knew more of what the public needed. Document B also refers to strict construction and Jefferson’s beliefs. It talks about the freedoms that were stated in the constitution, mainly, the freedom of religion. Jefferson believes that the federal government should not have any say in dealing with religion of the people. The Republicans believed that any law stated in the Constitution should be strictly followed.
...ating that ‘No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever…but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion ‘ (Document D). Another discussion that kept arising after the American Revolution was how much power the government should have. Having already dealt with tyranny under King George III, the colonists were apprehensive about giving the government too much power. However, in ‘The Federalist’ James Madison states that Government must have the power to control people, but that the abuses of government must be controlled. He states that ‘in framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the greatest difficulty lies in this; you must first enable the government to control the govern; and in next place oblige it to control itself.’
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence for the American colonists to proclaim freedom from Great Britain's oppressor, King George III. American colonists had been suffering for many years when this important document was drafted. King George III had pushed the colonists into a state of tyranny and most decided it was time to start an independent nation under a different type of government. Jefferson focused his piece toward many audiences. He wanted not only King George III and the British Parliament to know the American's feelings, but also the entire world. The time had come for an immense change amongst the American colonists and Jefferson made sure everyone was aware of it by using his superior strategies of persuasion.
When writing this document, they had to be careful not to do a few things. First, they didn't want this to sound like a rebellion. They tried to make it sound like it was a moral and justified thing to do. The goal was to make this rebellion a justified act. Rebelling against a king is seriose. So they had to be careful. They couldn't just make this against their own king of Britian, instead they wanted it to be a generelized statement for all kings. Otherwise, no one would pay any attention to it, for its only against one king. What Jefferson had to do was formulate a general political philosophy that affirms the right ofna people to establish and overturn it';s own goverment, which is also formulated in the first part of the second paragraph of the decleration, saying that all men are created equal with rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
The general court was set on a path to separating the beliefs of the church and the government. Luckily, years later a law would be passed in the Constitution that separates church and state.
In his brief response, President Jefferson sympathized with the Baptists in their opposition to the state of Connecticut’s established religion. The question of this assignment is “What do you think the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution thought about the separation of church and state or about the separation of God from government?” While devoutly committed to religious liberty He deeply opposed established churches as existed in Massachusetts and Connecticut, but recognized that, as President, he had to respect them. The letter contains the phrase "wall of separation between church and state," that expressed his reverence for the First Amendment’s “wall of separation between Church & State” at the federal level. This became the short-hand for the Establishment Clause that we use today: "Separation of church and state." President Jefferson put much thought and intense scrutiny into the letter, and consulted New England politicians to assure that his words would not offend while still conveying his message that it was not the place of the Congress or of the Executive to do anything that might be misconstrued an establishment of religion. The now well-known the phrase "wall of separation between church and state,” lay
One of the greatest conflicts in the history of the United State of America, the Revolutionary War, was started when the colonies of North America declared themselves independent from British rule. A group of men known as the Founding Fathers, which included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John and Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and others, formed the Continental Congress to rule their new nation. They chose Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence, which they would send to King George III to make their independence official. Jefferson knew that he needed to use strong language to make a solid agrument against British rule in the colonies and to convince the colonists that independence was the only choice to maintain their freedom as human beings. The powerful use of parallelism, ethos, pathos, and logos helpd Thomas Jefferson to convey his idea that all men are created equal with unalienable rights and that it is the duty of the government to protect those rights.
Thomas Jefferson wrote his Draft of the Declaration and was influenced by many of the ideas and concepts of John Locke. He did modify some of Locke’s ideas but most of them were the product of Locke’s belief in the Law’s of Nature and the fundamental unalienable rights of all human beings. As a result, their writings influence and demonstrate basic rights of people and make up our government. The world in which we live in is a product of the ideals of these men, who lived over 200 years ago; we are a representation of a republic
The reason Jefferson choose the expression "separation of church and state" was because he was addressing a Baptist crowd; a church of which he was not a member. Jefferson wanted to remove all fears that the government would make laws to the church.