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Why Was The Declaration Of Independence Important

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Why Was The Declaration Of Independence Important
When talking about The Declaration of Independence, you can’t fail to mention the reasoning behind this important document of American history. It all began when the original thirteen colonies wanted their independence from Great Britain. This led to a war, known as the American Revolution. It was a long fight for freedom that lasted eight years. However, a little bit over a year into the war, the Continental Congress appointed five men to draft a formal statement that will later become known as The Declaration of Independence. These five men were Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Even though this was a joint committee of five men, Thomas Jefferson mainly wrote most of The Declaration of …show more content…
Back then, these words represented a sense of freedom and independence against the tyrant king of Great Britain. This iconic document was there to inspire hope to the American colonists fighting a battle for their freedom. The right to life was exactly that. We have the right to live and no one can impose on that. The right to liberty is the entitlement of freedom. The right to pursuit of happiness is the right to freely pursue joy and live life in the way that makes you happy. Obviously it is possible for someone to take our life away, to impose on your freedom, and make other people miserable but that is a violation to our …show more content…
The original thoughts came from a man by the name of John Locke. This man was an English political philosopher. He was one of the most influential at the time of the early modern period. One of his greatest works was Two Treatises of Government. In this book, John Locke gives his opinion on how the divine right theory is not correct. He was a great supporter of the natural rights. He believed that the government should be limited and should ultimately protect our individual rights. John Locke stated, “All men by nature are equal in that equal right that every man hath to his natural freedom, without being subjected to the will or authority of any other man; being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.” He believed in this natural, inalienable rights. He also believed that “Every man has a property in his own person. This nobody has the right to, but himself.” John Locke truly believes in the right to “life, liberty and property.” He believes that when someone violates the social contract, he now longer has these “natural rights.” Locke once said, “the Natural Liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and not to be under the authority of man, but only to have the Law of Nature for his rule.” John may not have been completely correct in the eyes of everyone, but we are all born with our rights. No

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