Congress at the time, asked Thomas Jefferson and others to author a declaration of independence. The leadership at needed a document that stated why it was necessary for America’s independence of the British colony. Jefferson wrote down what he thought many Americans thought about the rights they should have. The declaration explains why the colonies needed to break away from the British colonies. The documents claim that people have freedoms and rights that should not and cannot be taken away. Additionally, the document lists the complaints against the King and that the colonised have to be free in order to protect their rights. The Declaration was finally approved on July 4th, 1776 (Wills 12). Jefferson argues that if the rights of the people were not observed, then the people had the right to form their government. Jefferson's authorship of the Declaration of Independence was the cornerstone of his fame. Once Jefferson brought the draft to Congress, they started editing it. The document may have gone through with small changes. However, Jefferson felt the Congress was doing more harm than good.
The Declaration of Independence was an important step in the union of the American states. Now that the political ties with Britain were put to an end, the new American nation was entitled by the new laws to create other new diplomatic relationships with the other European powers. The Declaration of Independence was a mean for the new American towards better ends. It was meant to push America from its anarchic life to a union that could improve their alliances with the other nations across the Atlantic.
Thomas Jefferson described the Declaration as a way to unite all the states in America. However, he was sceptical of the changes and that the lawmakers destroyed the union by giving the national government too much power. Jefferson and the other revolutionary leaders involved invoked the law of nature to come to agreeable conditions of the union with the British Empire. The corrupt British government rebuffed them, and they declared independence to create a limited American union. The American constitutionalism was shaped by those involved in the revolution and their experiences in the successive world. The American revolutionists became the proponents of a more liberal order and an independent federal union. Onuf (71) argues that the intentions of the Revolutionists were difficult to figure out because they had discrepancies in their world, their words and ours.
The Declaration of Independence created a new United States of America nation that currently exists. It is a symbolic document in the current American democracy. The effects of the document can be felt in the current America and even in nations abroad. The Declaration gave enabled Americans to experience life, liberty and pursue happiness. It encouraged freedoms in the country that Thomas Jefferson may or may not have foreseen (Wills 13).
The emancipation of the slaves is one of the most significant roles Declaration of Independence played in American history. In the statement of the Declaration “that they are endowed by their creator and with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. The statement means that all men are equal. The Declaration also holds all men and women equal. "We hold these truths to be to be self-evident, that all men and women are equal" (Armitage 23). Currently, all women and men are given equal rights, which is contrary to the past. Some argue that the declaration of Independence was interpreted literally when Abraham Lincoln emancipated the salves. The emancipation of slaves may have taken a long time. However, the Declaration also had a significant role in securing freedom for the black slaves (Armitage 23).
The declaration of independence also had an important role in the Bill of Rights. In a large part, the declaration of independence summarizes of what the bill advocates for. While the Declaration of Independence made the country independent of the British Imperialism, the Bill of Rights fights for rights such as the freedom of speech, right to bear arms, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, freedom of petition, right to avoid self-incrimination and other fundamental rights of Americans.
The Declaration of Independence affected the rights of foreign nations. The effects are such as the Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the French Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen. The declaration in France is a fundamental document that in the revolution. The French declaration states that “men are born and remain free and equal in rights. The social distinction may be founded only upon general good.” (Onuf 71)
Jefferson's constitutionalism worked at cross purposes. Firstly, he meant to disperse authority in a complex governance; second was to mobilize resources and the initiatives to enhance the improvement of the nation. The legacy left by Jefferson’s Declaration of independent is ambivalent (Onuf 71). The declaration had weak federal union that threatened to fall apart. The beliefs that the declaration advocated for had arguments that hindered the union to have more energy and structure. On the other hand, the declaration proclaimed a new America. By declaring themselves independent from the British Imperialism, the nation offered a glimpse of a great power of nationalists to mobilize citizens and resources.
Work Cited
Armitage, David. The Declaration of Independence. New York: Havard University Press, 2007. Print.
McDonald, Robert. “Thomas Jefferson's Changing Reputation as author of the Declaration of Independence: the first fifty years.” Journal of the Early Republic (1999): 169-165. Print.
Onuf, Peter. "A Declaration of Independence for diplomatic historians." Diplomatic History (1998): 71. Print.
Wills, Garry. Inventing Americ: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002. Print.
