The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizens, 1789
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The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens was formed by the
National Assembly on 27th August 1789. It was intended by the National
Assembly to be the preliminary statement of principles which the
constitution should be modelled. Thus allowing the nation of France to
be liberated and achieve a secure structure to their society. Marquis
de Lafayette, the commander of the National Guard and Thomas Paine, an
English political thinker, were major contributors in the drawing up
of the declaration. Lafayette made several drafts which he
subsequently sent to Thomas Jefferson, an American envoy to France.
Jefferson added some considerations of his own, based from American
experience. In particular, Jefferson made a provision to have an
amending constitutional convention on periodic intervals. The first
political paper written by Paine caught the attention of Benjamin
Franklin, another American envoy. In 1774 whilst in London, Franklin
offered Paine a letter of recommendation allowing Paine to immigrate
to America. After arriving in Philadelphia later that year, Paine
assisted in the writing of the Declaration of Independence before
leaving for France in 1791. However, despite being compiled by members
of different groups of society, the declaration was fundamentally a
bourgeois document. The clauses contained within the declaration echo
closely to the aims of the bourgeois. Equality was a fore front issue,
followed by property and a need to establish a taxatio...
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...r and allocating it to local
governments. This much improved government was to have a humanitarian
theme, emphasis in putting an end to cruelty, superstition and poverty
by applying the principles of the declaration. The declaration also
wanted to introduce and end to conflict. Most wars were declared by
Kings, based on the desire for more land. The citizens of France were
content with the quantity of land they inhabited. However, clauses
which addressed this issue could have been prompted by Necker. In
1781, the king's financial minister Necker issued the Compte Rendu, a
statement indicating the vast expenditure in wartime compared to the
more practical expenditure in peacetime. For these changes to take
place it was apparent that they needed to change from that of absolute
monarchy to take a more constitutional form.
Paine’s use of language to appeal both to his reader’s reason and emotion has given him the advantage of creating an emotional connection between himself and the reader, attempting to raise their spirits and show them what could be, while also asking them to put their own minds to the problem at hand. Asking them to make sense of their current situation. He gives hope and then appeals to their ability to discern what is best for their new world. By doing this, he has presented reason after reason for them to declare independence before he practically turned to them and said “Don’t you think so?” the only ‘reasonable’ answer would at that point be, “Yes of course Mr. Paine you’re completely right!”
For the first time, someone had sat down and written out the thoughts that the colonists had been brewing all throughout the past century. Paine themed his message around what became the mantra for the Revolution: Taxation without representation was despotic. Paine explored the wrongs committed by England, taking note to include why issues were counted as wrong and how they could be resolved. This listing of the grievances committed by England and the king was later mirrored by Thomas Jefferson in the drafting of the Declaration. In addition to nearly every colonist, nearly every Revolutionary radical leader read a copy. It became the most widely-read pamphlet of the Revolution and one of the most influential. Men and boys of all ages streamed to enlist in the Continental army, their hearts burning with lust for
Paine believed that America needed to break free of the British clutches. He spoke out against slavery and joined the army to help fight the war. He did not agree with hereditary monarchy and wrote another paper to argue this point (Franklin 321). Paine was very aware of his criticizers, and worked very hard to persuade them toward his way of thinking. In his pamphlet Common Sense he writes: "I have heard it asserted by some, that as America has flourished under her former connection with Great Britain, the same connection is necessary towards her future happiness, and will always have the same effect"(Paine 323). Paine states the following argument: ."..for I answer roundly, that America would have flourished as much, and proba...
Paine had not entertained the idea of independence from Britain when he arrived in America. He thought it was “a kind of treason” to break away from Britain. It was not until the Battle of Lexington in 1775 that he considered “the compact between Britain and America to be broken” (Claeys). This idea of a broken compact allowed Thomas Paine to write a political pamphlet.
The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson between June 11th and 28th of 1776. This document was created to demonstrate a new concept of government, resonating the thirteen colonies’ reasons for separating from England and declaring war. Moreover, to dissolve the political relationship that America had with England’s laws. This document’s rhetoric was directed at King George the third. Jefferson constructs a philosophical statement that carries the peoples voice and appeals to his readers through fundamental beliefs. Lewis Masquerier adopted this philosophical statement in his document, Declaration of Independence of the Producing from the Non-Producing Class in 1844. The underling theme is almost the same, equality for men and the right to liberate one-self from oppression. However, Masquerier’s declaration has many similarities but at the same time many differences, such as the topic of social reform instead of political. Masquerier notices the importance of the original document 68 years later creating a historical difference in tone, style, and rhetoric. Non-the less, both documents utilize langue to influence the audience and call for a social reform established by concepts of Marxism using rhetoric.
It was the 4th of July in 1776 when delegates from all thirteen colonies assembled at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Not knowing the full significance of what was about to take place that day,the delegates would do something that would forever change the course of the American people.
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.
The document I chose to write about is the United States Constitution. When the thirteen British colonies in North America declared their independence in 1776, they laid down that “governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” The “colonies” had to establish a government, which would be the framework for the United States. The purpose of a written constitution is to define and therefore more specifically limit government powers. After the Articles of Confederation failed to work in the 13 colonies, the U.S. Constitution was created in 1787.
In the summer of 1787, delegates from the 13 states convened in Philadelphia and drafted a remarkable blueprint for self-government, the Constitution of the United States. The first draft set up a system of checks and balances that included a strong executive branch, a representative legislature and a federal judiciary. The Constitution was remarkable, but deeply flawed. For one thing, it did not include a specific declaration, or bill, of individual rights. It specified what the government could do but did not say what it could not do. For another, it did not apply to everyone. The "consent of the governed" meant propertied white men only. The Bill of Rights did not come from a desire to protect the liberties won in the American Revolution, but rather from a fear of the powers of the new federal government.
The Declaration of Independence includes four parts. The first part is the Preamble, which explains why the Continental Congress drew up the Declaration. They felt their reason should be explained to England.
There are many important factors in the Declaration of Independence, which enable the foundation of a new government. These range from describing grievances with England, to how government should be run differently, to the first statement of separation. The first step to the foundation of a new government is the uniting of people in a common goal. Since all people were feeling violated by English soldiers, it was necessary to state these grievances in order to make people aware that they are not alone. When people learned that others felt the same as them, emotion was stirred.
A Writ of Habeas Corpus is an authoritative order forcing governments to provide the “body” of the detainee in which the legality of their detention and individual liberties will be challenged. Historically associated with civil liberty violation and the injustice of illegally detaining potentially enemies of the state, jurisdictional issues regarding their detaining location have made justice difficult to administer and deliver. Detaining enemies for their participation, involvement, and/or ties to threats of terror towards the United States will result the confinement of combatants, as solidified by the US Constitution, however, to what extent will they be forced to stay?. Residents of Guantanamo Bay are just; enemies of the state, accused individual that have been arrested and detain with minimal civil human rights to our jurisdictional due process that we American’s hold dear; with only a Writ of Habeas Corpus as their life line to legality and freedom. Although controversial in its conception and implementation by US presidential administration, judiciary members have cordially interpreted cases of questionable detention and the legality of doing so. It is truly unfortunate when individuals are tossed into confinement illegally with no help and/or the promise of their restorative freedoms (ACLU, 2014).
Did you know that the author of the Declaration of Independence was a 33 year old? Did you know that the Declaration was written in 17 days? Our third president Thomas Jefferson was the man who accomplished these monumental tasks. Through out his lifetime he molded America into the great country it is now; free from monarchy and unjust taxation. What drove Thomas Jefferson to strive for freedom? What were his beliefs? Who were his mentors? Where did he get his education? Where did he grow up? These are all things that Americans should know about this great man. Thomas Jefferson was the author of freedom.
When declaring independence, the bulk of the people thought that would be “…to burn the last bridge, to become traders in the eyes of the mother country.” (Garraty 110). John Dickinson had stated, “ ‘Torn from the body to which we are united by religion, liberty, laws, affections, relation, language and commerce, we must bleed at every vein.’ “ (Garraty 110). The people were afraid to break away, they pondered “ ‘Where shall we find another Britain.’ “ (Garraty 110). Eventually independence was inevitable. There was a great mistrust towards both Parliament and George III when the colonists heard that the British were sending hired Hessian soldiers to fight against them in the revolution. The pamphlet written by Thomas Paine entitled Common Sense called boldly for complete independence. This reflected his opinions on George III, calling him a brute, and also attacking the idea of monarchy itself. “Virtually everyone in the colonies must have read Common Sense or heard it explained and discussed.” (Garraty 110). John Adams dismissed it as something he had said time and time again. “The tone of the debate changed sharply as Paine’s slashing attack took effect.” (Garraty 110). A committee was appointed by Congress, consisting of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and many more. “The committee had asked Jefferson to prepare a draft” that would soon become known as the Declaration of Independence. (Garraty 112). It consisted of two parts: an introduction which justified the abstract right of any people to revolt and described the theory on which the Americans based their creation of a new, republican government, and a second part that made George III, rather than Parliament, look like the ‘bad guy’. “…The king was the personification of the nation against which the nation was rebelling.” (Garraty 112). “The Declaration was intended to influence foreign opinion, but it had little immediate effect outside Great Britain, and there it only made people angry and determined to subdue the rebels.
This Declaration was a groundbreaker in the start of the French Revolution. Many events occurred during the time leading to the formation and issuance of this declaration. During this time of the French Revolution, France was undergoing a recession from the war. There were food shortages and financial crises among the working class along with the nation adding to the revolt of the French people. France was under the rule of the absolute monarchy of the time, King Louis XVI. The National Assembly was formed with the intent to hopefully change the economical system the occurred during the time to stop the occurring crises. The “Declaration of Man and Citizen” and the “United States Declaration of Independence” share many of the basis points including human rights to basic freedoms and liberties as well as the pursuit of a just tax system.