How Did The Idea Of Liberty Change Today

The National Anthem of the United States describes that we all have liberty but do we all have liberty or is this just something that America says but does not follow. Liberty can be defined as the power to act as you please and to do as you please. The early American colonist and our founding fathers seen liberty as something similar but they seen it as something very different, too. Although it has changed and is still changing today, the idea of liberty to the early American colonist and our founding fathers built America in hopes it would make it better not to make it worse. Several of documents including the Declaration of Independence describe the early idea of liberty. Today’s idea of liberty is defined as something different. Today
living in America, we are supposed to have liberty, but to most of everyone living in America, liberty seems as just a word without a meaning to it.
The Early American colonist started building their idea of liberty because they thought that they did not have to rule under the British King any longer. This started the American Revolution. One philosopher by the name of Thomas Hobbes introduced the idea of liberty in his book Liathan, which stated that people could rule themselves and do as they please. Another man that influenced this idea was a man named John Locke. John Locke was a very important person in shaping Thomas Jefferson later on coming up with the declaration of Independence. Locke agreed with Hobbes on certain things but he also disagreed with him too. He wrote in the second treatise of government that man need to be governed by a ruler. John Locke is also famously known by what he believed in which was life, liberty, and property. These were the natural rights of man given by the government and if the government took away these rights, man has a reason to overthrow the government. As said before the idea that Locke said and believed influenced Thomas Jefferson to write the declaration of independence. The Declaration Clearly states that, “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.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness (The Declaration of Independence: A Transcription). This means that all men are created equal and any rights that are being taken away from any man in this country can do what they want to get rid of the government. Therefore, did this idea build America, and if so did it build it for the better or for the worst? To answer one of my previous question yes this idea did build America. We stood by this idea of liberty in hopes that it would make this country better. The Early American colonist and our Founding Fathers idea of liberty have changed and are still changing.
According to the declaration of Indepence that I previously cited, we are meant to have our natural rights and if these rights are taken away, we have the right to abolish the government. These rights include even the littlest things such as to wear what you want and to even do, as you want. Another big right that we have is the freedom of religion and the freedom of speech. The first Amendment states that, “The First Amendment guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition. It forbids Congress from both promoting religion over others and restricting an individual’s religious practices. It guarantees freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely. It also guarantees the right of citizens to assemble peaceably and to petition their government (First Amendment). Today people cannot even pray over their food without people asking them to stop. Yes, people have the right to ask you to stop but we also have the freedom of religion which means that we have the right to pray over our food if we please. Religion is not allowed in schools because it could offend people but we all have the right to freedom of religion, if you don’t agree with that certain religion you don’t have to pray with everyone else, just belive in what you beive in. Another thing that the
First Amendment states is that we have the freedom of speech. We might have had the freedom of speech in the past but we definitely do not have the freedom of speech today. Some people ask for your opinion of something but then when you try to give your opinion people say want to argue against your opinion because they do not agree with what you said. You don’t have to agree with my views on the subject, you can have your own viws with no questions needed to be asked.