Life, Liberty And The Pursuit Of Happiness

Every nation derives meaning and purpose from some unifying quality—an ethnic character, a common religion, a shared history. The United States is different. America was founded at a particular time, by a particular people, on the basis of particular principles which are person and political freedom, equality, and government limitation.
One great Principle which helps build the US is personal and political freedom. American founding fathers believed 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. It’s to secure these rights — governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed
(Jefferson, 1776). The constitution was drafted to limit the power of government over citizens. With the powers of government limited, people could be free to pursue their individual visions of happiness.
Many immigrants came to the United States for freedom. They know that America is the one of countries where the word freedom is not only in the dictionary. Most people immigrate to the United States because they are able to have freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, free education, and right of private ownership, right to a trial by jury, and basic civil rights to peruse life, liberty, and happiness free from discrimination based on race, religion, or sexual gender (D’Souza, 2008). This definition of freedom comes from a person’s culture, background, influences, and experiences in life.
I think legal equality and equality of opportunity is the one of the most importance principle in the US constitution. The Declaration begins with those words “the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them; a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. 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, 1776, p.11).
When Thomas Jefferson wrote that "all men are created equal,” He knew that humans obviously differ in many characteristic and attributes. So what do the founding fathers really mean by equality? They meant that humans are equal in the life and liberty they are born with and deserve to keep. As stated in the first sentence of the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776, “all men are by nature equally free and independent." (West & Jeffrey, 2008,
p.71)
In other words, although human beings are unequal in several ways, no one human or class of humans is superior to another human or class of humans in the way that all humans, since they are rational creatures, are superior to beasts (West & Jeffrey, 2008). Equality between human really helps the United States to be the greatest country in the world. More people are attempting to get into US because of this freedom of opportunity than any other country in the world. This is because of the free enterprise system that allows anyone with the desire to work at any job or become anything they want to work to attain. Equality does not mean this will be handed to them at the pleasure of the Government, only that each individual can create and gain the rewards of their creation, without government interference. America offers mores opportunity and social mobility than other country in the world. In others countries particularly in Africa countries, if your father is not riche man, you don’t have to dream about becoming riche. In America, your future is not set; it is constructed. Your life is like a blank sheet of paper, and you are the artist. The freedom to be the architect of your own destiny is the force behind America’s worldwide appeal (D’Souza, p.100). D’Souza asked to his friend from Mumbai who has been trying to move to the U.S: “why are you so eager to come to America?” and his friend answer him back that: “because I really want to move to a country where the poor people are fat.” That show how great America is. I think Separation of powers and checks and balances are the greatest idea of founding fathers to protect the civilian freedom.
The founding fathers understood from their experience with the king of England that government by law should be divided in three distinct powers. Placing all three powers in the same hands is, according to Madison in the federalist 47, the very definition of tyranny, because there would be no external or internal checks on the power of government. Men are not perfect, whether they are in the government or out of it (West & Jeffrey, 2008). There is no one on earth who can be trusted with all the power of government to itself. So the framers had this idea of a written constitution which would check and limit the power of the government from without having distinct legislative, executive, and judicial power of government would check and limit it from
within.
With the powers of government limited, people could be free to pursue their happiness. The Founders wanted to prevent any opportunity for government tyranny and oppression. They wanted the government to protect the right of people so the citizens can pursue their ideas of happiness. I think that the limitation of the government is the founding principle that makes US the greatest country. “If men where angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary”. (Madison, 1788, p.37)
Personal and political freedom, legal equality and equality of opportunity and separation of powers and checks and balances are those principles which make the United States the greatest country in the world.