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>From this, Americans drew one of the most important concepts. In the Declaration of Independence, the founders used Locke’s theory to justify their independence from Great Britain. Americans were justified in revolting against the King, the founders declared, because the King deprived them of their rights to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”. Thomas Jefferson substituted the phrase “pursuit of Happiness” for the word “property”, in order to give the document a more idealistic tone.
The colonists were tired of being mistreated by the British. They wanted to separate themselves completely from British rule. The King allowed the quartering of soldiers, taxes without consent, cutting of trade relations, taking away of charters, obstructed the Laws of Naturalization, and countless other offences against the colonists (Jefferson 685-86). They had been abused long enough.
In June of 1776, Congress appointed a committee to draft a statement to the world presenting the colonies’ case for independence. The committee consisted of John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Robert R. Livingston of New York, and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. The committee assigned Jefferson the task of writing the original document. After a few minor alterations made by Franklin and Adams, the document was submitted to Congress. Church bells rang out over Philadelphia on July 4, 1776…signaling that the Declaration of Independence was approved and officially adopted by the Continental Congress. They were now a free country.
Two hundred and twenty-five years ago, Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. The words he wrote were, “We hold
Quotes talked about in this paper
- he wrote were, "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 (Jefferson 685). "…created equal…," ...
- He said that these "natural rights" ...
- "Racism Down But Not Out in the US Government Study Finds", published on September 22, 2000, Assistant Secretary of State, Harold Koh ...
- Koh too, mentioned the recent incidents that have happened saying that, "we have not yet met the challenge of creating a color-blind society" ...
- the King, the founders declared, because the King deprived them of their rights to "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness".
Names referenced in this essay
Thomas Jefferson, John Locke, Jordan, David Terpstra, Harold Koh, King, Benjamin Franklin, Dr. Gunn, John Adams, Rodney King, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston, David, Thomas, Amadou Diallo, Abner Louima, James Byrd,
Organizations mentioned in this research paper
Congress, US Government, United Nations Committee,
Locations referenced in this report
Great Britain, Philadelphia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, America,
Facility referenced in this report
Keywords talked about in this report
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