`The declaration of independence` Thomas Jefferson

The Declaration of Independence : A justification of American act of rebellion

I . Introduction

No doubt , Thomas Jefferson 's Declaration of Independence is one of America 's most important documents for it played a significant role in America 's journey to freedom from Britain 's domination . Although the Declaration of Independence is now popularly regarded as a creed of American democracy , the essay was originally written not with the intent to lay down American democratic principles but to justify the American colonies act of rebellion against Great Britain (Lucas 79 II

. Discussion

The Declaration of independence was written to address a particular circumstance in American history and not as a guide to be referred to once the revolutionary war was over (Lucas 68 . Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence upon the Continental Congress decision in July 1776 to separate America from Great Britain (Perry 431 . The essay was primarily to justify the revolutionary wars which the Americans were compelled to take so that Spain and France , countries which the revolutionaries hoped to gain military support will not regard their taking of arms as illegal acts of rebellion . Moreover , through the essay the American leaders were hoping to gain local support for as yet not all were convinced that breaking ties with Great Britain was a wise course of action (Maier 130 ,156 . To persuade listeners to side with his views , Jefferson adopted an assertive tone of voice , coupled with a sense of otherwise and setting the impression of an impending revolution

The Declaration of Independence is famous for its statements of man created equal and had unalienable rights to life , liberty and the pursuit of happiness . This is a very good basis for a democratic principle where the individual rights of man is given priority . In contemporary society , The Declaration of Independence is an important creed of democracy and justifies actions that trample on human rights or exploitation especially by the government whose leaders and laws do not protect its citizens . In a personal level , the essay should serve as a reminder that all individuals had rights that need to be respected

Historically , Abraham Lincoln , the famous American President interpreted the Declaration of Independence as a statement of our great democratic principle ' and quoted the equality of man in his Gettysburg Address in 1863 (Lucas 68 . The essay served another important role , too . Perhaps , what would be great consequence was how the Declaration of Independence awakened the American leaders to the irrationality of African black slavery . According to Abigail Adams wife of President John Adams "It always appeared a most iniquitous scheme to me to fight ourselves for what we are daily robbing and plundering from those who have as good a right to freedom as we have (Coombs 1996

The concept of men being created equal and had the rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness is based on John Locke 's ideas of the natural rights of man of which the government should dutifully protect . He...