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The declaration of independence and today
The declaration of independence and today
The declaration of independence and today
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The American colonies assertion for freedom from the English rule officially began with the Declaration of Independence. In the monumental document the founding fathers state their grievances with the English policies, and most importantly make a promise to the American people of maintaining a fair constitutional republic based in pluralism in which sovereignty lies with the citizens. The follow through to the promises made by the Declaration of Independence is the United States Constitution. The Constitution set into official law the equality of American citizens, created a network of checks and balances, relying on an informed populace to preserve the republican system of government, and the secure establishment of a federal model, resulting from the prior events, conflicts, and compromises that necessitate the existence of the Constitution as well as being inherent in it’s writing and ratification. The Declaration of Independence solidified the American Colony’s succession from the English during the revolutionary war. The declaration let the English monarchy know where the …show more content…
Under the Articles of Confederation the individual states remained sovereign and maintained their independence, congress served as a last ditch effort to appeal disputes in addition to that congress was granted authority to build upon alliances, create treaties, maintain armed forces and coin capital. The weakness of the central government under the Articles of Confederation made the collection of states taxes and regulation of commerce incredibly difficult and nearly impossible to reinforce. The major weaknesses and downfalls of the Articles of Confederation necessitated the enactment of new federal laws. These new laws would be discussed and voted on, in the Constitutional Convention in 1787 in
In the year 1787, George Washington headed the delegation that had come together to sign the US Constitution. The aim of the constitution was to give more power to the federal government. The Constitution contains rights that guarantee American citizens freedom of religion and worship. The Declaration of Independence came into existence on the fourth day of the sixth month of 1776, and it regarded the thirteen American colonies as free and independent from the British oppression. The Declaration of Independence came before the Constitution, and its aim was to state that the United States was no longer under colonial power as compared to the constitution that gives rights to American citizens. The Declaration of Independence, therefore, freed a state while the United States Constitution gave freedom to the American citizens after their nation had been liberated from all forms of colonial repression. The Declaration of Independence defined that the United States was free from British oppression whereas the Constitution describes the role of each branch of the government.
The thirteen states formed a Confederation referred to as the “league of friendship” in order to find a solution for common problems such as foreign affairs.The Articles of Confederation was the nation’s first Constitution. The articles created a loose Confederation of independent states that gave limited powers to the central government. Each state would have one vote in the house of Congress, no matter the size of the population. Members of the one-house Congress, such as Pennsylvania, agreed that the new government should be a unicameral legislature, without an executive branch or a separate judiciary. Under the articles, there wasn’t a strong independent executive. There wasn’t any judicial branch but Congress had the authority to arbitrate disputes between states. Congress was responsible for conducting foreign affairs, declaring war or peace, maintaining an army and navy and a variety of other lesser functions. But the articles denied Congress the power to collect taxes, regulate interstate commerce and enforce laws. Because of this, the central government had to request donations from the states to finance its operations and raise armed forces.
Under the Articles of Confederation each state had its own sovereignty. And the central government was to provide thing such as national security, treaties, courts, and currency. However the government could not tax. If the states didn't pay their bills to the government there was nothing the government could do about it. This is just one of many reasons why the Articles didn't work. In 1786 Virginia tried to get the Articles modified by holding a meeting known as the Annapolis Conference. This meeting failed because only five states sent delegates. A few months later another meeting was held in Philadelphia.
The Declaration of Independence cut the political connections between the thirteen original colonies and Great Britain. By declaring independence, the American colonists were able to forge an official alliance with France and obtained French assistance in the war against Britain. The Purpose of the declaration was to explain why congress had voted, July 2nd 1776, to declare their independence from Great Britain, over a year after the American Revolutionary war began.
The Colonies were excited about having won their independence in 1783 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, but they still had to be able to create their own system of government which they thought would create a strong government which would not have an overpowering central government as they thought Great Britain had had. With this was the creation of the Articles of Confederation. These articles were meant to create strong local and state governments while not granting any power to the central government with the idea that it could not have any power over the states. The states were allowed to conduct their own diplomacy, or war, from nation to nation or even from state to state. States were allowed to create their own currency and put heavy import taxes on goods from other states. The federal government had no independent executive, nor could it levy taxes on any part of the states. It could not create or maintain a militia; this duty was left to the states. All decisions had to be ratified by all thirteen colonies. In thought, this was a great idea because only the most popular decisions would be ratified and stronger states could not hurt the smaller states through majority rule. In practice it did not work very well because it could be thwarted by a single stubborn state.
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.
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.
Some were even tarred and feathered and they had to defend for themselves from all the Americans. Most colonies were struggling through a major economic depression and just learning how to operate without the British Rules, this proved that the national government was too weak to deal with growing economic and political problems. The Articles of Confederation was signed on March 1781 and it lasted only 8 years. The purpose of the Articles of Confederation was to create a ruling that allowed each state to maintain its “sovereignty, freedom, and independence”. This made it were each state was independent and only the United States was responsible for Defenses on the country, and general welfare. These articles made the government as week as possible and it made it impossible for Congress to tax and regulate foreign commerce; also laws required a 9 to 13 vote to pass. State would often refuse to financially support the national government which made Congress powerless to enforce any acts it passed. Congress needed money after the Revolutionary War because the “United States spent $37 million at the national level plus $114 million by the states” (American Revolution – America at the
When the topic of hate and bias crime legislation is brought up two justifications commonly come to mind. In her article entitled “Why Liberals Should Hate ‘Hate Crime Legislation” author Heidi M. Hurd discusses the courts and states views that those who commit hate and bias crimes ought to be more severely punished. She takes into consideration both sides of the argument to determine the validity of each but ultimately ends the article in hopes to have persuaded the reader into understanding and agreeing with her view that laws concerning the punishment of hate and bias laws should not be codified. Hate crime is described as a violent, prejudice crime that occurs when a victim is targeted because of their membership in a specific group. The types of crime can vary from physical assault, vandalism, harassment or hate speech. Throughout the article Hurd tried to defend her view and explain why there should be no difference of punishment for similar crimes no matter the reason behind it. Her reason behind her article came from the law that President Obama signed in 2009 declaring that crimes committed with hatred or prejudice should have more sever punishments. While the court has their own views to justify their reasoning behind such decisions, in the article Hurd brings up points and facts to prove the wrongfulness of creating such a law. However, though Hurd has made her views clear in the following essay I will discuss reasons why the penalties are justifiable, why they should receive the same degree of punishment, less punishment and my personal view on the topic.
With the increase in hate crimes in America, minority groups are starting to become the prey of the beasts who commit these awful crimes. So the minority groups (Asians, African Americans, Jewish people, Homosexuals, and others) have been pushing to have hate crime laws passed to protect them from violence and ridicule. The laws that are in affect now are only slightly protective of the minorities in hate crimes. The laws that are in state right now say that a hate crime offender can only be prosocuted for their crimes if they are prohibiting the minority or victum of the hate crime from a “federally protected right”. Such as attending school, voting and etc. The victums of hate crimes do not think that these laws are very strict. The victoms are demanding newer stricter laws. The victoms or minorities want these newer stricter laws because basically they have no protection from violence. The old laws basically just state that if you are prohibiting the person from doing something you are at fault. Well the minorities want these stiffened and they want them to be harsher. An example of what the minorities want is any act done against anyone with intent to cause bodily harm or death because the person was part of a minority group will carry the fine of being federally prosecuted and with that there is the chance of the death penalty.
As Americans, we all have rights of our own like freedom of speech, laws to abide by, and a nation that stands together. Sometimes we do not come to an arrangement with others and what we say or do does not matter to anyone. In society, we have some people who are supposed to be important to us, to protect us, and to give us the right rules to live by but who do not care, and does not want to listen to anybody. In this essay, there are two documents that explain how the nation went from a sheltered nation to an independent country. On July 4, 1776 Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, which was adopted by Second Continental Congress. The purpose of the pamphlet was to achieve independence and a gain of respect. Jefferson and the colonists did not have any authority nor did the things that they tried to get British to agree with was overlooked. The King of Great Britain (King George III) did not care about what the colonists wanted, or what type of rights they were looking forward to agree with Britain It was not anything that did not matter to the King of what happened during the time of the American Revolution. The colonies suffered twenty-seven wrong doings because of King George III. The king forced taxes on the colonists without their consent. He came in between the colonists’ rights to self-government and a judicial system. He did not want any of his governors to pass a law that was important and for none to be elected as ruler. While the governments tried to come together to an agreement with Great Britain, King George continued to ignore them. Nobody was protected of wars because the war was heading toward the colonists, this King George stated in the Declaration of Independence. The town...
Society consists of many different sociological groups. These groups involve people of diverse races, religions, and more. Unfortunately, hate crimes happen when groups become angry or frustrated towards each other. These groups are formed mostly during times of economic struggle or even social change. Hate groups continue to be a problem in our society. A group believes that the reason for a specific problem is only the fault of another racial, religious, or other group. The most common forms of crime in our society are due to hatred. Hate crimes are defined as a crime motivated by hatred, prejudice, or intolerance of somebody’s race, religion, ethnicity, political affiliation, disability, and/or sexual orientation. Plenty of hate crimes happen due to the fact that someone is different from someone else.
There are both state and federal laws that prohibit hate crimes, but proving an assailant committed a crime in prejudice is very difficult. Any type of crime can call for some form of punishment, from fines and short prison stays for misdemeanors to long term imprisonment for felonies. Once it has been reviled that an accused willfully committed an offense, proof must be given that indicates the crime was influenced by prejudice against a specific characteristic in order to show that it was also a hate crime. When this can be proven, the harshness of the crime automatically increases. People often wonder why hate crime punishment is harsher than for crimes that are not motivated by any type of bias. The basic reason for this is that most crimes are directed at an individual, but hate crimes are against an entire community. A burglar who breaks into a random home does so for personal gain, and usually doesn’t even know who lives in the home they are invading. Conversely, a person who chooses a victim based on a particular bias is singling out a ch...
However, after a string of discrepancies between the colonies and England, the English Parliament, who still ruled over the colonies, passed harsh laws mainly regarding commerce and taxes. Led predominately by the wealthy, elite white men, the colonies drafted a declaration of independence from England, citing a list of unacceptable acts committed by the king of England. One of the most iconic lines from the declaration reads, “all men are created equal & independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness” This Declaration led to an all out revolutionary war in which the colonies banded together to obtain freedom from the perceived tyrannical government of England. This is the ultimate example of freedom being the most prominent factor in America’s
...ith these differencesAs Barbara McQuade said, “A hate crime is different than a simple assault because it is an attack on not just one individual victim, but an attack on everyone who shares a particular characteristic.”As presented in this paper, hate crime isn’t new but isn’t talked about too much either. These crimes are not taken as serious as they should be. Attention was brought to what hate crime is, who commits them, at what ages they are being committed, how often they occur, which states have the most and which people are targeted the most. Hate crimes are done every day and it isn’t taken seriously. It can happen to anyone in this country at any time. After reading this paper there should be enough information gathered to try and avoid these crimes. It is also shown that participating to try and put an end to these crimes would be very helpful to society.