The Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence

TheDeclaration of Independence is the statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776 wich gave birth to what is known today as the United States of America. The document is symbolic for American democracy and one of the free charters of freedom. The effects of the statement today can be seen and felt within the United States of America and also among many foreign nations.

Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness

One of the more immediate effects felt by the Declaration of Independence was the Emancipation of black slaves. Abraham Lincoln certainly took literally the statement from the Declaration, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. The American dream put in a nut shell All Men are Created Equal

The document also paved the way and created equality among all men and women. Today we can see the effects of the first sentence written in the Preamble: We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal.

Throughout history we have seen so many different changes, from freedom of slaves, to equality among men and women. Today , women have been given every opportunity that men are now given and are truly equal among men.Bill of RightsThe Declaration of Independence had a profound effect upon the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. The Declaration, it seems, may have ignited the fire under which the Bill of Rights and the Constitution were written. The Declaration is in large part a summary of what the Bill of Rights stands for.

Effects among foreign nationsIt has also left lasting effects upon other foreign nations, including the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, and the Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The French Declaration is one of the fundamental documents of the French Revolution and defines a set of individual and collective rights of all of the estates as one.

The Declaration is not divided into formal sections; but it is often discussed as consisting of five parts:Introduction, thePreamble, theIndictmentofGeorge III, theDenunciationof the British people, and theConclusion.The Declaration justified the independence of the United States by listing colonial grievances againstKing George III, and by asserting certainnatural and legal rights, including aright of revolution.

Declaration House where Jefferson wrote the statement