Essay about The Declaration

Submitted By ShaylaThomas
Words: 1236
Pages: 5
Open Document
Shayla Thomas
Special Topics in Media
September 22, 2014 The Declaration of Independence
After being ruled by Great Britain for almost 200 years, the leaders of the 13 colonies, grew fed up with the tyrant government and decided to write a formal complaint declaring their independence. In this document the leaders not only, spoke on behalf of the people against the oppressive laws and governing of the Great Britain King, but they also established moral standards to which United States should strive. Although the Declaration of Independence states that all individuals are created equal and are born with the natural god given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, some would argue that this document is one huge contradiction which did not intend to include the rights of all people, while others might view this document as the first step towards equality for all mankind.
Is the Declaration of Independence one huge contradiction? Some could say it is merely a document of complaints drafted by Thomas Jefferson and a hypocritical group of “American Leaders” who were tired of being controlled by Great Britain. To think the authors of this document actually had the audacity to speak so blatantly against some of the exact forms of oppression they continued to directly inflict on Africans’ for almost one hundred years after gaining the country’s independence from Great Britain in 1776. Not to mention the 100s of years of mistreatment prior to this sudden realization of the equal rights of all mankind. It’s like the old unanswerable question, What Came first the Chicken or the egg? In this case it’s what came first the racist consensus by all white people that African Americans weren’t considered human or the tyrant ruling of Great Britain that forced this mentality onto the lives of a civilized group. Slavery started in 1619 only 12 years after the 13 colonies where colonized by Great Britain. Given the savage behavior and reputation of the British Empire, it’s easy to believe that the concept of the enslavement of thousands of African was devised by such a dictatorship.
Although the American leaders had benefited and survived off the suppression of another group’s rights for so long, they couldn’t fathom their rights being infringed upon any longer. They drafted the declaration of Independence to assert their rights, however they never intended for the document to apply to the rights of all people. They knew that to include the African Americans would be indirectly denouncing the system that had sustained their economy for hundreds of years. That’s why the original drafts of the Declaration of Independence that included clauses that mentioned African Americans were extracted before the final publication. The authors didn’t want to offend white southerners who were still benefiting from this slave system that just so happen to resemble the policies of the British Empire.
Although the authors of this great document might have felt it was necessary to define the rights bestowed upon each individual at birth to successfully explain their reason for overthrowing the government, ignoring their own participation in unjust practices makes this document appear contradictory. The authors of this document believed every man was created equal and reserved the right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness, yet they miserably enslaved thousands of human beings on their plantations for hundreds of years. According to this document these “American Leaders” felt that it was the job of “the people” to elect a specific group to govern over the community. Whenever the community was unpleased with the way the government was running the land it was the right and obligation of the people to overthrow that government. Yet they never gave the Africans the chance to choose their own government and the disobedience and revolts of the enslaved resulted in the murder of hundreds of innocent people.
When the “American Leaders”
Show More

Related Documents: Essay about The Declaration

The Declaration Of Geneva

9/16/13 EngWr 300 The Declaration of Geneva, or better known as the Physician's Oath, was adopted by the General Assembly of the World Medical Association at Geneva in 1948. It is a declaration of a physician's commitment to the humanitarian goals of medicine, a declaration that was especially important in view of the medical crimes which had just been committed in Nazi Germany. The Declaration of Geneva was intended as a revision of the Hippocratic Oath to a formulation of that oath's moral…

Words 471 - Pages 2

declaration, bill of rights declaration of man Essay examples

The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams had put forth a resolution earlier in the year, making a subsequent formal declaration inevitable. A committee was assembled to draft the formal declaration, to be ready when congress voted on independence. Adams persuaded…

Words 455 - Pages 2

Declaration Of Sentiments Analysis

The Declaration of Sentiments was very important for suffrage movement to go a positive route. The document is important because it declared the injustices that women received and the reason women wanted to have right’s. In the bill it states that women have to submit to laws of men but they are not allowed to have a say in the laws. It was important to mention because it made other women realize the unfairness of having no representation in a country they live in. “He has denied her the facilities…

Words 326 - Pages 2

The Value Of The Declaration Of Independence

more iconic than the Declaration of Independence, the short but powerful statement issued by Congress on July 4, 1776, severing bonds with Britain and launching the Colonies on their path to independence. On the one hand, the Declaration was a formal legal document that announced to the world the reasons that led the thirteen colonies to separate from the British Empire. Much of the Declaration sets forth a list of abuses that were blamed on King George III. The Declaration of Independence was several…

Words 494 - Pages 2

Declaration Of Independence Rationality

The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, declared the newly formed American colonies free from British control and established a just government. After being subject to unfair rule of the British Empire, the document ensured that the colonists were not only “absolved from all allegiance to British Crown” (130), but that their God-given rights would be protected under a new, just government. The founding document is based upon the belief that all men are created equal…

Words 772 - Pages 4

Essay On Declaration Of War

What happened to the American Declaration of War? The United States has not officially declared war since WWII, but there has been plenty of military conflicts that that the U.S has been involved in that most would categorize as war. Some wars since WWII include the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War, yet there has been no formal declaration of war for any one of these wars. The United States needs to follow formal Constitutional process when declaring war in order…

Words 1068 - Pages 5

Declaration Of Sentiments Analysis

America has produced three truly great documents: The Constitution, The Declaration of Independence and The Declaration of Sentiments. The Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson, was a political move forcing Britain into the international spotlight. This document included all the offences committed by King George III of England against the settlers of America. The Declaration of Sentiments, written 72 years later by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, was a civil move. This document was created…

Words 339 - Pages 2

Dbq Declaration Of Independence

Declaration of Independents Our history of the United States has many changes throughout the decades. One that is constantly changing is civilization. There is one that changed everything that led to a political, social and economical change. This was the declaration of Independence. This was a declaration that had separated the 13 colonies from Great Britain. What this declaration had done was establish grievance against the British. The declaration was written by one founding father. Locke inspired…

Words 365 - Pages 2

The Declaration and Resolves Essay

Resolves The “Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress” was written by James Madison, in 1774. It was written in response to the British Parliament and the passing of the Coercive Acts, or Intolerable Acts, earlier in the year. Madison wrote this document to address the British Parliament and to demand that the American Colonists be given certain rights. His purpose is to strive toward independence and exploit the king and his wrongdoings within the declaration. Through analysis…

Words 612 - Pages 3

Essay on The Balfour Declaration

The Balfour Declaration was a November 2, 1917 letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Lord Rothschild that made public the British support of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The Balfour Declaration led the League of Nations to entrust the United Kingdom with the Palestine Mandate in 1922 The Balfour Declaration was a product of years of careful negotiation. After centuries of living in a diaspora, the 1894 Dreyfus Affair in France shocked Jews into realizing they would not…

Words 628 - Pages 3