The American Declaration of Independence Essay

‘The Declaration of Independence’ is one of the importance documents in the history of America as it has laid a foundation to a better constitution (Maddern 534). This paper held the records of all the injustices that occurred to the citizens at the hands of the Great Britain rulers. Therefore, a union known as Second Continental Congress formed a committee to air their grievances through an official statement from one of their members, Thomas Jefferson. This text further, explained the demands of the group, for instance, the need for natural or legal rights which included the right for Revolution (Anderson 31). Since then, this testimonial has become an essential pillar in the push for human rights.

On the Declaration, Thomas Jefferson argued that the sole purpose of the text was not to discover new laws or arguments that have not been ascertained before by any other person, but rather bring a justification to the need for independence from the ruling party. The distinctive feature of his argument is the fact that there was the lack of respect from the rulers resulting in the violation of both political and economic rights.

On the contrary, he sees this action as a refusal to “assent” to the fundamental standards of human dignity that could facilitate a better relationship and overall development, “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable… ” (Parkinson 44).According to him, this lack of respect will not disappear unless a rebellion takes place to facilitate the activation of their rights as colonialists.

Today, the race issue has made the Declaration less relevant. The rampant problem of racism is a significant hindrance ‘to acting together for all’ as Jefferson intent ended in his statement of having typical “civil religion.”It is quite the opposite as different people have grown overly suspicious of others depending on their races. Besides, the authority of the federal government is also a contributor to reducing the text’s relevance.

In fact, a comprehensible constitution has been designed to be followed especially for issues concerning the human rights. The law provides clear procedures to pursue such matters instead of resulting to revolution, failure to which will lead to the breach of the Constitution (Steele 1).

In the contemporary American several liberties are at stake. One such freedom is right to live especially among the young black Americans. It is a growing concern as the black youths are shot dead by people in the authority due to the increasing suspicion. In fact, they are considered a security threat, unlike their white American counterparts. The other liberty that is at risk is the right to equal treatment under the law.

The violation of this right is seen to continuously occur due to the extensive racism. Most of the people of color have been heard complaining of unequal treatment or discriminated against in particular by the authority. This issue also results in divided decisions in government as some people struggle to prove to be better than others (Sargent 429).

From the above explanations, it quite evident that the argument in ‘The Declaration of Independence’ contributed significantly to American history of human rights (Ray 32). However, in current contemporary society, the text loses its relevancy due to the development of other better ways of solving disputes through the stipulated constitution. Nonetheless, some liberties are at stake even in the light of the constitution as noted above.

Works Cited

Anderson, Owen. “Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine.” Self-Evident Truths in American Law The Declaration of Independence and God (n.d.): 31-49. Web.

Maddern, Stacy Warner. “Thomas Jefferson: The Declaration of Independence – By Michael Hardt.” WorkingUSA 11.4 (2008): 534-36. Web.

Parkinson, Robert G. “The Declaration of Independence.” A Companion to Thomas Jefferson Cogliano/A Companion to Thomas Jefferson (2012): 44-59. Web.

Ray, Kristofer. “Thomas Jefferson and A Summary View of the Rights of British North America.” A Companion to Thomas Jefferson Cogliano/A Companion to Thomas Jefferson (2012): 32-43. Web.

Sargent, Daniel. “Ark of the Liberties: America and the World – By Ted Widmer.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 42.2 (2012): 429-30. Web.

Steele, Brian. “Jefferson’s America.” Thomas Jefferson and American Nationhood (n.d.): 1-10. Web.