Declaration Of Independence Research Paper

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Is it posible for a document to be over 230 years old and yet still be the country’s most influential document? Indeed it can. The Declaration of Independence is one of America’s founding documents that is still referred to up until this day. It may just be a piece of paper with some fancy signatres, but its significance exceedes that concept greatly. This document established a new nation, a new governmnet, a new culture…. A new life. It shaped the nations and it’s the reason of why America is how it is. The Declaration of Independence’s structure is composed of a statement of explanation for the nation’s separation from British rule, a statement of ideals about government, a long list of grievances against the British government, and…show more content…
One of the ideals expressed in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence is that every person has the right to unalienable rights. These are important because it explains that no matter what a person’s ethnicity, religion, salary, status, or any other unimportant detail, it shows that every person is human and therefore they have those rights. These rights, however, are subjected to many varied interpretations. Some people may belive that “the pursuit of happiness” is the destination, or a location that everyone has the righht to visit. On the other hand, some people will interpret “the pursuit of happiness” as the journey and that everyone has the right to experience. Even though the interpretations vary, it is clear that they have the same goal…. Achieve happiness, life, and…show more content…
That whenever any Form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it…”. According to this statement, if the people belive that the government is not functioning the way it should and is not listening to the people’s petitions, then the people have the right to alter it or abolish it all together. The reason why the people have this is right is because, according to John Locke and Thomas Hobbes, in a “state of nature” no government existed. Without an authority to protect the people from one another, life was “nasty, brutish, and short”. To preserve people’s rights, the people gave some power to a governing authority, but when government failed to preserve the rights of the people, the people had the right to break the contract and alter or abolish the government. The government was created for the safety of people but if people believe that their safety and rights are in jeopardy, then they can change the government or destroy it
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