Why Do We Need To Abolish Declaration Of Independence

July 4th, 1776 marked the beginning on a new nation. It was on this day that the Declaration of Independence was signed as the colonies split ties with their mother country, Great Britain. After many years of being under the leadership of the English, who ruled them from many miles away, problems began to arise in the colonies. Although not all agreed, many believed that the ways the English were doing things were wrong. The Declaration of Independence was written not only to declare independence from Great Britain, but also the reasons for why the colonies were doing so. The Declaration clarified some of the views that this new country held, and discusses the scenario in which the country will have to abolish a form of government once more.

This document had a lasting impact on the years to come, affecting people’s views and thoughts about certain issues such as religion, the rights of the people, equality, and slavery.
The Declaration of Independence was not only about one thing.

It stated the reason for why the colonies were issuing it, which was to end the tie between the British and the colonies. The colonies, now known as the United States, declared that they were to be separate from the British and also to be their equals. There are three major topics within this document; self-evident truths, the purpose of government, and reasons for altering or abolishing a form of government. It states that all men are created equal, and without question should be granted rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is the government’s purpose to secure these rights, but it only with the consensus of the people. Although it is a right of the people, only when there is a “long train of abuses” should altering or abolishing a form of government be considered. Even if there is a scenario for which it is acceptable to abolish a form of government, it must only be done when all of the people are united in wishing to institute a new form of

government.
Ten years after the colonies declared their independence from the British, the same man who wrote the Declaration of Independence wrote another document. This man, Thomas Jefferson, was the prime author of the Declaration and later went on to talk about the right for people to have a “free exercise of religion”. Thomas Jefferson profoundly disliked the ways Great Britain were ruling the colonies while they were still under their rule. For this reason, he was trusted with writing the draft of the Declaration, in it stating the reasons for declaring independence. He did not stop there. He went on to write the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, in 1786, allowed men in Virginia to support the religion of their choice, and not have to face any negative consequences. The Declaration hoped to stand in contrast to the “divine right of kings”, where the king is chosen by God to rule. This “God”, is from the Christian religion, and stating that there is only one God. Although Great Britain tolerated some religions, not all were acceptable. Being the writer of the Declaration, Thomas Jefferson was greatly impacted by it. He became the leader in speaking or writing for the ideals and rights of the American people.
The Declaration of Independence could not state everything by it’s own.

In 1791, The Bill of Rights was written and issued. Containing ten articles, this document talks about many different issues. Acting as a continuation of the Declaration, it states the rights that the people of the United States are guaranteed to have. It is also a list of the limits of the government’s power. An example is Article Four, in which police officers do not have the right to arrest people or search through their property without first receiving a warrant issued by a court due to a likely cause. This document was restating points from the Declaration, declaring that the purpose of the government was to secure and protect these rights and they are only given the right to do so by the

people.
While the Declaration of Independence did appear to be a step ahead of the rule of the British monarchy, it was not perfect and it had its flaws. The United States was suppose to be a country where everyone was equal. However, the Declaration only states that all men are created. For some of the women of the country, this outraged them. Sarah M. Grimke even wrote a document, Legal Disabilities of Women, pointing out the flaws of the system. The Declaration, having been written only by men, had stuck by the traditional gender bubbles. Women were believed to have no say in what happens to them politically, and her only duty was to please her husband. Women were not entitled to the rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Grimke points out how women are slaves to their husbands, just as the black slaves were at the mercy of their master. They were not allowed to own property, and their husbands control all the money that comes into the household no matter who earns it. Grimke, due to the fact that she herself was a woman, was greatly affected by these matters. Being so politically dependent on men, and not given the morals and rights as her male counterparts, she sought change.
Women were not the only category of people who were not included in the Declaration of Independence. Colored people, mainly those from Africa, were barely treated as human beings during this time period. David Walker, an African American man, happened to be one of them. In his appeal, David Walker’s Appeal, Walker points out that although the Declaration of Independence declared that all men were equal, many people did not view colored people as real men. For many centuries they were thought to be an “inferior race” who were not capable of looking after or making political decisions. The government was abusing their power for many years, as they were not treating people of color as equals. Under the Declaration, if abuses continue for a long period of time it is the right of the people to get rid of such a government and that was what Walker was trying to convince others of. For when the British was ruling the colonies as a tyranny, the colonies took action and separated themselves to have themselves be equal. However, the people of color are being treated worse than the British were treating the colonies. As a man of color, Walker was greatly affected by the Declaration, and tried to extend its rights to all men.
It was not only people of color who were trying to fight for the end of slavery, for slavery was not equality as the Declaration states that all men are entitled to. White men, such as William Lloyd Garrison and John Brown, both stood up for the rights of the colored people; slaves to be more specific. In Garrison’s, The Liberator, he fought fiercely for the slaves to have their rights guaranteed to them by the Declaration. He believed that speaking strongly what he believed in was the only way to get his words heard and actions to be taken. In John Brown’s Last Speech, in which Brown admitted that it was his plan to free slaves and succeeded to do so on at least one occasion. The Declaration not extending to those of color drove these two men to speak loudly and take drastic measures in order to try to get equality.
The Declaration of Independence affected the lives of many people. The author of this document, Thomas Jefferson, went even farther to call for a separation of state and church. However this single document alone was not enough to map out the laws for all the people, including the government itself. Documents such as the Bill of Rights were put into place to do so. As the colonies declared freedom from the British to see themselves as equal, some people who lived in the colonies were still not free or equal. Women were less dominant compared to men, and people of color were treated as if they weren’t human beings at all. For this reason many took to writing about the problems their country still faced.