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Compare and contrast declaration of independence and constitution
Comparing the declaration of independence and the us constitution
Compare and contrast declaration of independence and constitution
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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 Declaration of Independence came before the Constitution. Every nation has to be sovereign before it can guarantee any freedom or rights to its citizens. The …show more content…
One similarity between Jefferson’s letter and the United States Constitution is that they all grant freedom of worship. The Constitution grants Americans freedom of religion implying that a person can worship who, whenever or wherever they wish to worship as long as they do not interfere with the rights of other people. Jefferson’s letter, on the other hand, granted freedom to the Danbury Baptist Church stating that the government would not interfere with their means of worship in any way. Jefferson’s letter further promised that the government would not favor
Two Founding Fathers, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both discussed their views of aristocracy. The two disagreed on this subject, as they did on many others. In summary, Adams seemed to be more open to aristocracy, as long as it is controlled, while Jefferson rejected pseudo-aristocracy, he believed that natural aristocracy can and should be a result of government.
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 it was written, 56 delegates coming from all of the 13 colonies signed the Declaration of Independence in order to make it official. This document served great justice during the Atlantic Revolution; it sought to make a difference as to how the colonies were in terms of their alliance with Britain. The Atlantic Revolution was able to make this happen, for it opened up the space for change. Through the document, we can see how the colonies determined to separate themselves from the British Empire. Some things to pay attention to in the writing is that they mentioned things like “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”. The goal of this statement is to make sure that even though the men make up the government and the people must be okay with them, at the end of the day the people have the right to make sure that their government is not being destructive and is aiming towards their rights. The Atlantic Revolution brought forth new ideas of government and the liberation of the colonies from the
The Declaration of Independence refers to “our constitution”, in this respect they were referring to the Ancient British Constitution. The United States was expressing the fundamental aspects of British politics; among these were Classic Republicanism, Enlightenment Liberalism, and Protestant Christianity. In the Declaration they balanced all of these English traditions; expressing what they believed to be the true spirit of the British Constitution. As Edmund Burke would say, “(the Revolution) was carried out not to create new liberties but to preserve old ones” (Wood, p. 58). The main issue that the colonies had with the British following 1763, was England’s belief in the doctrine of
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.
In “From Notes on the State of Virginia,” Thomas Jefferson includes some proposed alterations to the Virginia Laws and discusses some differences between blacks and whites. First, he describes one of the proposed revisions regarding slavery: All slaves born after the enactment of the alteration will be freed; they will live with their parents till a certain age, then be nurtured at public disbursement and sent out of state to form their own colonies such that intermarrying and conflicts can be avoided between blacks and whites. Next, Jefferson indicates some physical differences between blacks and whites, including skin color, hair, amount of exudates secreted by kidneys and glands, level of transpiration, structure in the pulmonary organ, amount of sleep, and calmness when facing dangers. As he notes, these differences point out that blacks are inferior to whites in terms of their bodies. In addition, Jefferson also asserts that the blacks’ reasoning and imagination are much inferior to the whites’ after he observes some of the art work and writings from the blacks. As a result, based on his observation, he draws a conclusion that whites are superior to blacks in terms of both body and mind. However, Jefferson’s use of hasty generalization, begging the question, and insulting language in his analysis is a huge flaw which ruins the credibility of his argument and offenses his readers.
Over the following decade following the Declaration of Independence, the appointed leaders created the U.S. Constitution (1787), which established America’s national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens (History.com).
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
The Declaration of Independence was written on July 4, 1776. On that day the 13 Colonies became free and Independent states. The Declaration of Independence states this “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. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to...
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
The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, is a well-known document in American history proclaiming the separation of the United States from Great Britain. Jefferson uses the document to explain the unjust laws King George III was pressing onto the Colonists and brings them to light. The use of rhetorical strategies in the script influences the audience’s opinion towards their loyalties to the King and ends with the United States’ newly gained independence.
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.
Stating, “what religious privileges we enjoy as favors granted, and not as inalienable rights: and these favors we receive at the expense of such degrading acknowledgments, as are inconsistent with the rights of freemen.” (Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists, 2016.). Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists stated clearly that he “contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American People which declared their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” (Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists, 2016.). The separation of church and state was an important part of the U.S. Constitution, and that all Americans have the right to religion. Although Jefferson had his own belief in god, like many Americans, others may have a different idea of god, and shouldn’t be infringed for their
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.
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.