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Critique of Declaration of Independence
Contemporary views of the declaration of independence
Analyze declaration of independence
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Introduction
Since the Declaration of Independence was drafted founding itself on individual privileges and choice, happiness and democracy, a multitude of concerns have kindled the rights disputes that we see making law an active and continually growing and interesting area of interest today. Issues arose included women suffrage, civil equality, slavery, the ability to hold a religious forum, along with many others. And, though the context and times have significantly changed with these concerns there still remains a constant struggle between state, religion, and schools. Prayer in public schools is still a topic of conversation. The giving of religious gifts to administrators and the funding of schools through tax-payer monies are just two latest allegations heard by the court system in recent years (McFarlane, 2012). The concept is found in the First Amendment, which states:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances (University of Indiana Bloomington, 2012).
The Amendment does not contain the literal phrase separation of church and state, so where does the concept of separation of church and state generate if it is not located within the US Constitution? In particular, how does the concept apply to higher education?
Historical Background
Becoming the third President of the United States in 1800, Thomas Jefferson ran the breadth of his campaign focusing on religious freedoms (Hemmer, 2009). Receiving a letter of support from a group of Baptists in Danbury, Connecticut, Jefferson wrote a reply l...
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...y. Franklin Business & Law Journal, (3), 81–90.
National Women's Legal Council, The Lilly Ledbetter Act of 2009: Emerging Issues (2011), Retrieved from http://www.nwlc.org/resource/lilly-ledbetter-act-2009-emerging-issues
The Secularization of Scholarship in American Higher Education. (2007). ASHE Higher Education Report, 33(2), 7–25. Retrieved from http://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=26633349&site=eds-live
University of Indiana Bloomington, S. of L. (2012). The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies. School of Law, Indiana University Bloomington. Retrieved from http://www.law.indiana.edu/uslawdocs/declaration.html
Wallace, D., & King, P. (2013). EEOC VS. higher education: Recent laws and interpretations impacting faculty discrimination. Journal of Legal, Ethical & Regulatory Issues, 16, 1–7.
The Supreme Court case in Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow result in a unanimous ruling that the phrase “under God” may remain in the Pledge of Allegiance as narrated in public school classrooms. The court made the decision because the atheist father did not have grounds to sue the school district on behalf of his daughter. While the ruling was made on the Flag Day, it did not meet the clear endorsement of the constitutionality of the pledge as sought by President Bush and leaders of Republican and Democratic Parties in Congress. Notably, the eight judges who participated in the case had voted to turn over a federal appeals court decision in 2003 that would have prohibited the use of the phrase in public schools as an infringement of the constitutional outlaw on state-sponsored religion. A majority of these justices i.e. five made that ruling on procedural grounds in which Michael A. Newdow, the atheist, did not have legal reasons to sue the school district (Lane, 2004).
Congress will make no law that restricts people’s religious beliefs, right to express themselves in public and private peaceably, or ability to petition the Government for settling of grievances.
The first Amendment of the United States Constitution says; “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”[1] Our fore fathers felt that this statement was plain enough for all to understand, however quite often the United States government deems it necessary to make laws to better define those rights that are stated in the Constitution. Today the framers would be both encouraged and discouraged by our modern interpretation the First Amendment the United States Constitution.
The American Revolution (1775-1783) was a war between England and the colonies which were settled earlier by the English. There were many factors and events that led to the American Revolution. The Revolution was mainly an economic rebellion that was fueled by taxation without representation following the French and Indian War. The English Parliament was more often than not considered cruel and unfair by the colonists. With conflicts over trade, taxes and government representation, the colonies were at a starting line of a revolution that would later transform into the basis of the United States of America.
Jefferson, Thomas. "The Declaration of Independence." The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. 8th edition, Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. New York: McGraw Hill, 2003. 305-308.
There are many events that have happened in our history that have helped shape our country into what it is today. One of those events that helped change our country was the Decleration of Independance. The Declaration of Independence was written on July 4th, 1776. And this document was written so we were separate from England and so we weren’t under their power anymore. It meant that we were going to become a self-governing country. This was the very first big step we took to become our own country. And if we hadn’t have separated from England we wouldn’t be the country we are today. This helped build our nation and bring us closer together so we were united as one. This is when we realized we could be something bigger than what we were.
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution includes the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. These clauses instruct that legislature shall neither establish an official religion nor unnecessarily restrict the practice of any religion. U.S. Const. amend. I.
How the judicial branch rules in cases relating to the 1st and how they relate that to all the rights of public school students. This includes anything from flag burning to not saluting the flag to practicing religion in school. The main point of this paper is to focus on the fact that schools have a greater ability to restrict speech than government.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” (First Amendment Center, 2008)
The First Amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” The first amendment does not state that there was such a separation, but that there was a “wall of separation” which the government could not break. The misunderstood statement from Thomas Jefferson has resulted in Judges who ignore the Constitution and the original intent of the First Amendment of our Founding Fathers (Bonta). The first amendment did not state that there was such a separation, but that there was a “wall of separation” which the government could not break. The misunderstood statement from Thomas Jefferson has resulted in Judges who ignore the Constitution and the original intent of the First Amendment of our Founding Fathers (Thomas Jefferson’s’ letter). The First Amendment does not say “Separation of Ch...
First Amendment issues of the separation of church and state and state establishment of religion have long been litigated in the federal courts. Until recently, the Supreme Court had a consistent track record of preventing the intermingling of religion and government, especially when it came to the nation's public schools. Yet this past year, a newly activist conservative court has set about rewriting some of the Warren Court's judicial legacy. In the 1995 case of Rosenberger v. University of Virginia, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, declared that the University of Virginia was constitutionally required to subsidize a student religious magazine on the same basis as secular publications and activities. This decision opens the door to greater government financial support for religious organizations. Groups like the Christian Coalition and the American Center for Law and Justice, the legal wing of Pat Robertson's financial empire, saw this narrow decision as a victory for their agenda of weaving together government and religion, thus tearing down the wall of separation between church and state, To justify their pursuits, they site the need for moral leadership in this country, which many view as ethically and morally rudderless. Yet Ralph Reed, Pat Robertson, the Christian Coalition, and other similarly thinking individuals and groups are promoting an agenda more far reaching than their mainstream supporters have in mind. The move to infuse government with a greater religious presence has almost nothing to do with instilling traditional values and morality, and almost everything to do establishing Christianity, specifically evangelical Christianity, as the state religion. ...
Throughout the twentieth century, the United States Supreme Court has protected students’ rights to practice their religious beliefs, so long as they are not “disruptive, discriminatory, or coercive to peers who may not share those same beliefs” (Education Weekly, 2003, para. 3). In 1943, the Supreme Court ruling in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette stated that students could not be “forced to salute the flag or say the pledge of allegiance if it violates the individual’s conscience” (First Amendment Cyber Tribune, 2002). The 1963 decision in Engel v. Vitale made school prayer unconstitutional, and similarly found school prayer at graduation ceremonies in its 1992 Lee v. Weisman decision (First Amendment Cyber Tribune, 2002). Student-led prayer at public school football games was found unconstitutional in 2000 with the Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe (First Amendment C...
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
Schipani, C. (2013). Class Action Litigation After Dukes: In Search of a Remedy for Gender Discrimination in Employment. University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, 46(4), 1249-1277.
Burns, Prue, and Jan Schapper. "The Ethical Case For Affirmative Action." Journal Of Business Ethics 83.3 (2008): 369-379. Business Source Complete. Web. 4 May 2014.