decleration of independence
Quite possibly the most critical document ever written in the history of our great country was the declaration of independence. This document set off a chain reaction of events that came to shape a nation, an independent nation. After reading the document over a few times while writing this paper I have come to realize something, I have never actually read it. Sure I knew its significance in history and I knew what it was about but I never actually took the time to read it through. The first two paragraph of this document sum up what it is to be an American and to be a patriot and I have overlooked it for some time. Our founding fathers, to use the cliche, were true patriots and wanted nothing more than to be free from the grasp of England. In the first two paragraphs of the document Thomas Jefferson eloquently explains to us, the people who were later to become known as Americans, we were born a free people and can no longer be oppressed by an overbearing and unjust mother country. He states that everyone is born with certain unalienable rights. These opportunities are bestowed upon everyone. Now we look back on this document and realize that some of these stateme
In the first two paragraphs of the document Thomas Jefferson eloquently explains to us, the people who were later to become known as Americans, we were born a free people and can no longer be oppressed by an overbearing and unjust mother country. He states that everyone is born with certain unalienable rights. These opportunities are bestowed upon everyone. Now we look back on this document and realize that some of these statements may be from a utopian point of view due to the fact that there was still slavery going on in almost all of the southern colonies, but for our purposes we shall analyze the values that Jefferson expresses and overlook that fact. His main concern in the document is to give an understanding that not just Britain, but any government that is "destructive of these ends" must be overthrown by the people and a new government must be put in its place. Jefferson realizes that no government is flawless and everyone makes mistakes, but when that governme! Howard Zinn is an author who, from what I've read, shows his views on history from a more realistic point of view. He supports his opinions with evidence from primary sources of the time period. Some of his perception of historical events is different from that presented by modern day history books. In an excerpt from his book Zinn argues that "to depend on the simple existence of the First Amendment to guarantee our freedom of expression is a serious mistake, one that can cost us not only our liberties but, under certain circumstances, our lives" . He is challenging what the "founding fathers" based the rights that are presented to us in the first amendment on. He says that the alien and sedition acts that were passed by congress in 1798 were impeding on the first amendment rights of the American people. While he makes valid points throughout the article about the value of free speech and that people really don't have free speech I can't come to agree with his reasonin! Howard Zinn is an author who, from what I've read, shows his views on history from a more realistic point of view. He supports his opinions with evidence from primary sources of the time period. Some of his perception of historical events is different from that presented by modern day history books. In an excerpt from his book Zinn argues that "to depend on the simple existence of the First Amendment to guarantee our freedom of expression is a serious mistake, one that can cost us not only our liberties but, under certain circumstances, our lives" . He is challenging what the "founding fathers" based the rights that are presented to us in the first amendment on. He says that the alien and sedition acts that were passed by congress in 1798 were impeding on the first amendment rights of the American people. While he makes valid points throughout the article about the value of free speech and that people really don't have free speech I can't come to agree with his reasonin! 4. Witt, James. "Signers of Declaration of Independence Harper Collins available from: were true patriots". Naples Daily News, 4 July 1998, special were true patriots". Naples Daily News, 4 July 1998, special 1. Boller Jr., Paul F. and Story, Ronald. A More 2. Faragher, John Mack. Volume one: Out of Many:
Some common words found in the essay are:
Declaration Independence, Howard Zinn, Thomas Jefferson, British Empire, Robert Morris, York Times, Stamp Act, Indian War, Sugar Act, Witt Witt, declaration independence, prior restraint, founding fathers, government destructive overthrown, actually read, free speech, precedent prior, howard zinn, shape nation, thomas jefferson, precedent prior restraint, declaration independence true, true patriots, expresses founding fathers, founding fathers signed,
Approximate Word count = 2880
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)
|