The Declaration of Independence is the voice of the people who lived in the 13 Colonies that wanted to leave the British Crown. The Founding Fathers sat together and created this document that stated the Rights and the Liberties of the people and what was wrong in the Colonies. The Declaration of Independence spoke to King George III and said that the Colonies wanted Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness and that as "Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, Conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce and to do all other Acts..."
In the years from 1764 to 1775, King George III passed acts in the Colonies. Some of the most famous acts include, the Sugar Act (1764), the Quartering Act (1765), the Stamp Act (1765), the Townshend Acts (1767) and the Tea Act (1773). These Acts led to the Colonies boycotting many items and later, famous acts of rebellion such as The Boston Tea Party. The colonists wanted these Acts to be removed and they also wanted to be represented in British Parliament. The colonists created the slogan, "No Taxation without Representation"
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which meant that the Acts that the British Crown passed were not fair and illegal because they had no representatives in Parliament and the King made all the decisions. So, after enduring the power of King George III, the colonists wrote the Declaration of Independence in the year 1776. During the time of all these Acts that were passed, Thomas Jefferson, Jon Adams and others planned the formation of the Declaration of Independence to send it to the King of Great Britain.
They wrote this document for King George III, for the British Parliament and the British Crown in general. It was meant for these people because they took away so many rights from the Colonists and the People wanted their own type of Government in place. They wanted to have a voice and an opinion when it came the making of laws. The Thirteen Colonies wanted a Government where their voice is heard and they wanted to tell the King that he is being deaf when it came to "...the voice of justice and consanguinity." There was no approval or constant when it came to laws or when it came to the Acts that were put into place. The King, to them, was, "...totally unworthy the Head of a civilized
nation." Freedom, Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness were among many reasons, very important factors to the separation from Great Britain. With this document the United States hoped to be free, hoped to have their voice and constant, and they hoped to govern themselves by telling their monarch that they are separating. They were announcing that they are now independent states and that they would do anything to support the Declaration, either with money, their lives or even their honor. This very important document later to the freedom of the Colonies and the freedom to start their own Government. Although King George III reacted to the people with the sending more soldiers to the Colonies to restore order, it eventually led up to the American Revolution. The American Revolution was the loyalists and King George III versus the patriots who wanted Freedom above all else. The loyalists fell trying to keep the tyrant in power while the patriots wanted to remove the King and be rid of the Crown that kept them imprisoned for so many years. The winning of the war against Great Britain created a wave of influence for the rest of the world such the Revolution in France. The people, either in France, Great Britain, or America, were encouraged by the things they read such as the words of John Locke and Thomas Paine in Common Sense, and that is why they fought more for their freedom.
The Declaration was for the colonists to seek for independence. The quote most widely known is “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”(Jefferson) The Declaration of Independence was written mostly by Thomas Jefferson who stated the above quote. Like the Declaration of Sentiments, all men are created equal. The Declaration of Independence allows the people to have the right to abolish an proposition that they do not agree with. They also have the right to institute a new government if they do not feel it is not ensuring safety and happiness to everyone; they can vote in a government who will ensure this. It is also the peoples right to throw out a government when laws are abused. Every year on July 4, people in the United States celebrate Independence day, also known as the Fourth of
After enduring “a long train of abuses and usurpations” the colonists decided to declare themselves free of British rule (para 2). Jefferson writes that given their “unalienable rights . . . Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”, “it is the Right of the People . . . to institute new Government”, one that will fairly represent them, to reestablish order (para 2). The Declaration of Independence does not seek to convince or even encourage action; rather, it aims to declare. There are no mistaking Jefferson’s words. The Colonists are tired of the mistreatment and they are effectively severing all “Allegiance to the British Crown, and . . . political connection” (para 23). The audience of The Declaration of Independence, the world, is specifically addressed twice. The first
Thomas Jefferson composed The Declaration of Independence in 1776. The purpose of this document was to explain to both foreign countries and the people of America why separating from England had to happen and to ultimately get them [the people] to agree to a revolution. Thomas Jefferson made The Declaration of Independence a stylistic and artistic masterpiece through his powerful word choice, the use of personification and the sentence structures used throughout the document.
The purpose was to justify the revolution of the “new” colonies. Many of the people were excited for the plan. The American people had thrived for the freedom, and to establish the government for themselves. The Declaration has three parts to the document. The first part was the Declaration of Natural Rights. This explained the basic human rights for each American citizen. The entire document is centered around how each person is equal, and it has been given by God. The second part of the document is composed of lists of grievances. This section listed complaints about the ruler of Great Britain at the time, George III. This, of course, spoken against the ideas of the king, and the ideas of a overpowering monarchy. The third part of the document was the resolution, or conclusion. The resolution concluded that the colonists have officially broken away from Great Britain. With the closing part, the colonists had officially separated from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence first step was to separate the colonies into states and establish the authorities that will be in control over the
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.
...e colonists frustration with Britain; it was in actuality a “public confession of treason” which meant death and confiscation of estate for one found guilty (Ellis 104) at that time. If one really thinks about it, the men who signed the Declaration risked loosing the very rights stated in the document. The document stated that their creator had given life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They risked their lives, freedom and property to gain independence from the Crown and to have freedoms of their own. These freedoms included, freedom to run their own country as they saw fit, freedom to live life in the manner they chose, freedom to form their own laws and regulations, and many more. Men, who risked death for treason in writing it, wrote this Declaration, and because of them we all enjoy our freedom and ability to have choices. The document not only played a role in gaining independence from Great Britain, but it played a role in the abolition of slavery, in equal rights for African-Americans and women, and many more. We should all be proud of the Declaration. It is a document the United States formed on and its contents definitely hold true value even today more than ever.
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 a 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. The Declaration of Independence listed the grievances such as, “He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.” The next important step to the foundation of a new government was to gain peoples ambition by showing how the government would be run if a new party took over. This goal was achieved by stating the rights of man. “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.” This statement made people hopeful and feel kindly toward this new government. The final step in the preparation for a new government was separation from the old government. This was declared twice in the Declaration of Independence. In the beginning, “That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, driving their just powers from the consent of the governed,” and in the end, “that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved. In conclusion, the Declaration of Independence was able to motivate people, give them ambition, and made it simple for Americans to take action.
The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson, representing the thirteen colonies under British rule. After being oppressed under the tyranny of Britain, Jefferson writes the Declaration of Independence to address the King of Britain to declare independence from British rule. Jefferson addresses many subjects, however he focuses on the subject freedom, throughout his writing. Through his use of inductive reasoning, anaphora, and vilifying words in his logical reasoning, Jefferson successfully expresses the colonies’ frustration towards Britain and the colonies’ desire for independence.
Leading up to the time of the Revolutionary War, seven policies were passed by Britain in hopes of controlling the colonies. These acts culminated in the Quebec Act which persuaded many Americans into supporting the revolutionary effort. The Proclamation of 1763 was the first policy passed by the British. This forbid any settlement west of Appalachia because the British feared conflicts over territory in this region. The proclamation, however, infuriated the colonists who planned on expanding westward. The Sugar Act was passed shortly after in 1764. This act sought harsher punishment for smugglers. The next act to be passed was possibly the most controversial act passed by Britain. The Stamp Act passed in 1765 affected every colonist because it required all printed documents to have a stamp purchased from the British authority. The colonist boycotted British goods until the Stamp Act was repealed but quickly replaced by the Declaratory Act in 1766. The British still held onto the conviction that they had the right to tax the Americans in any way they deemed necessary. The Declaratory Act was followed by the Townshend Acts of 1767. This imposed taxes on all imported goods from Britain, which caused the colonies to refuse trading with Britain. Six years passed before another upsetting act was passed. In 1773, the Tea Act placed taxes on tea, threatening the power of the colonies. The colonies, however, fought back by pouring expensive tea into the Boston harbor in an event now known as the Boston Tea Party. The enraged Parliament quickly passed the Intolerable Acts, shutting down the port of Boston and taking control over the colonies.
The Declaration of Independence gave the thirteen colonies their freedom from Great Britain. When the colonies had broken away from Britain, they started to make their own government, which lead to the making of the Constitution. Soon after when the Constitution was trying to be ratified, Virginia and New York wanted there to be a ground set of rules that would make sure the people are protected, the Bill of Rights came into play.
Every July 4, Americans celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence, but do we really understand why it was written in the first place? The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776 is by far one of the most important historical documents for the United States of America (Stockdale, 2016). In Jefferson 's words, the Declaration was written, "In order to place before mankind the common sense of the matter in terms as plain and simple as to command their assent." The authors of this document addressed the philosophy of natural rights, compiled a lengthy list of grievances towards the King, and let England know that the American Colonists were about to declare themselves an independent nation. They wanted their intentions to be very clear for King George III.
One of the most famous pieces of history, the “Declaration of Independence,” was published on July 4, 1776, and was written by Thomas Jefferson. In the British colonies in America, Jefferson addresses not only the King George III of England but the American colonists with a formal document structured in a general to a specific list of grievances. The purpose is to explain why the colonies want to form their own country. In commanding and accusatory tone, Jefferson utilizes figurative language and rhetorical strategies to express his attitude towards the matter of American Independence and the King of England.
The Declaration of Independence itself answers the question, "Why was the Declaration of Independence written?" The Declaration of Independence was a way for the British colonists in America to fight against Great Britain, they wanted to declare their independence from the British Parliament. These colonists were used to do whatever they wanted in many different ways. They felt that King George III and the British Parliament was trying to take away many of their freedoms through unfair laws. The purpose of the Declaration of Independence was to state that the colonies were from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence also described the principles that for wanting independence. The Declaration of Independence said that all men are created equal and they are all entitled to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” When the Declaration of Independence was written, it was presented to the committee, and the committee thought that this draft was almost perfect. They presented the Declaration of Independence to Congress after making a few small corrections. After the few more changes, the Declaration of Independence was approved. The signers of the Declaration of Independence stated that the new states had the right to wage war against Great Britain, trade the way they wanted, and create their own laws.
The Declaration of Independence was written to declare that the thirteen colonies were claiming themselves as independent states. Then U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights were written. These important papers spell out freedoms guaranteed to Americans and the laws that protect those freedoms. They talk of a government that works for the people.
When in the course of adolescent events, it becomes necessary for young adults to break away from the restraint of adults which has been controlling us for years, we as teenagers have the same God-given and natural rights. Therefore, we must declare the reasons that compel us to obtain freedom.