Constitut essays

Declaration of Indep/Constitut essays The Declaration of Independence The framers of our country undertook the daunting task of creating a new country from scratch. Their intent was to create a republic that would be able to withstand the sands of time without losing sight of their democratic ideals. This they have accomplished, for the United States is the oldest large democracy in the world. But how did they succeed? During the era of our countrys birth our founding fathers set up a government that would base itself and its institutions on the idea that humans are not naturally political. In order to ensure order and sovereignty the drafters of a new regime knew that they had to establish a strong and coherent central government. However, this new government would be legitimate only if it was based on the consent of its governed citizens and had the means of checking and balancing itself. The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution differ in that the first proclaims principles about natural rights and the latter has the primary function of establishing a concrete formula for a government. Both, however, exemplify beliefs that in order for a large republic to last, it must be based on the federalist belief of a separation of power. The Declaration of Independence tells us that, all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, (Declaration). The author of the document, Thomas Jefferson, had the intent of showing that all men had the natural right of freedom. Since the British monarchy viewed colonists as mere tools for economic gains for the mother country and hence gave them almost no say in the passage of laws directly affecting them, they were inherently unequal compared to citizens that still lived in Britain who had representation in Parliament. Thus, it was our right to dis...