The Steps to Our America essays

The Steps to Our America essays The Declaration of Independence is a historical document that stated the colonies wanted and would gain freedom from Britain. It eloquently expresses the reasons the colonies wanted freedom. It also blamed Britain for many abuses that King George forced and inflected upon the colonies. The Declaration of Independence includes the peoples right to change or overthrow their government if it tries to deny them their rights. This document has inspired freedom loving people throughout the world. On July 2, 1776, the delegates started reviewing, revising, and debating Thomas Jeffersons 1st draft. They removed a few statements that condemned King George for encouraging slave trade. The rest dealt with style. On July 4 it was adopted by the Congress and signed by John Hancock, the president of the Congress, and Charles Thomson, the secretary. On July 19 it was ordered to be written in nicer writing on parchment and all 56 delegates signed it. Thus we declared our freedom from Britain and were able to stand on our feet, unsteadily but on our feet, even though other countries doubted us. The Declaration is very important to us today. The World Book Encyclopedia states, Drawing upon the writings of the English Philosopher John Locke and other English thinkers, it states two universal principles that have been important to developing democracies ever since. The first principle is that governments exist for the benefit of the people and not their rulers, and that when a government turns to tyranny (unjust use of power), the people of that country have a right to resist and overturn the government. The second principle, that all men are created equal, has served as a powerful reminder that all members of a society are entitled to the full protection of the law and to the right to participate in public affairs. (76) ...