...from the Text of The Declaration of Independence Abstract The Declaration of Independence is a statement of the American Revolutionary War and also an important defense of bourgeois rights. Studying carefully American cultural values from The Declaration of Independence, we can better understand the core of our Chinese cultural values and get to know the main differences and similarities between these two value systems. In this way, we will find all the advantages and disadvantages regarding both cultural values, and thus learn those good ones while overcome the shortcomings. This thesis falls into five chapters. In the first chapter, the necessity and significance of the study are introduced. In Chapter Two, some definitions of key terms included in or related to this thesis are presented, including Value, Cultural Value and The Declaration of Independence. Chapter Three mainly concerns the analysis of the text of The Declaration of Independence. By analyzing the text, the main cultural values related are demonstrated as liberty, equality and democracy. Then each cultural value is explained respectively and thoroughly with proper examples. Chapter Four mainly discusses the contradictions and conflicts inherent in those American cultural values, showing that American cultural values is a double-edged sword. The last chapter is the conclusion part which summarizes the whole thesis. Key Words: American, The Declaration of Independence, cultural values Contents ...
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...However, many have forgotten about the injustice African American slaves faced in the United States Court system. During 1740-1860 African American slaves endured not only enslavement but, were neglected by the U. S. Courts. A number of slaves tried to secure their own freedom, only to find the legal system was not on their side. The United States Courts was responsible for hearing and ruling on some of the country’s most controversial cases. The research in this paper was greatly influenced by previous works, with the hopes of shedding light on the United States court systems as it related to African American slaves in this time frame. Slaves and the Courts, 1740-1860 According to Lubert (2010) Slavery has been the great moral failing of the American Revolution… a movement that was based on the self-evident truth that all men were created equal. The founding fathers believed that slavery was in fact an embarrassing contradiction that violated everything the American Revolution stood for (Lubert, 2010.). Even though documents such as the Declaration of Independence existed slavery was widely practiced and legally acceptable. Nearly twenty years after the Declaration of Independence was written. Fugitive slave law was introduced in the United States. The fugitive slave law was known as the “Fugitive Slave Act”. This act made it illegal for individuals to interfere with the attainment of fugitive slaves…. "No person held to labor or service...
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...Influences on the Constitution Marlene Monarrez HIS/301 December 3, 2012 Instructor: Andrew Van Ness Influences on the Constitution Table |Documents |Summary |What was its influence on the Constitution? | |Magna Carta | Issued by King John of England in 1215 when Englishmen went to the colonies they were | The Magna Carta gave Englishmen certain human rights, | | |given charters that guaranteed them and their heirs would “have and enjoy all liberties and |freedom of religion, reform of justice system and regulated | | |immunities of free and natural subjects.” The document clearly stated that no free man could|officials. The Magna Carta limited the king’s power and created | | |be prosecuted by any means other than the law of the land. |what we know today as parliament. | | |The Magna Carta had been the very first document which proclaimed personal liberties. The | | | |Magna Carta was forced upon an English Emperor by a team of barons. This had been the first |This was used as...
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...1. Explain why the title of this chapter is "Tyranny Is Tyranny." In your explanation, please include the most obvious reason which will be evident by the end of the chapter, but also include the deeper connections related to the content of the entire chapter. How exactly would one explain why the title of this chapter is "Tyranny Is Tyranny?” According to the Dictionary, tyranny is nothing more than a nation under cruel and harsh dictatorship. Therefore, it is easy for most readers to place the title “Tyranny is Tyranny” because the text analyzes the movement for "leveling" (economic equality) in the colonies and the causes of the American Revolution. The chapter also argues that the Founding Fathers push for war to distract the people from their own economic problems and stop popular movements. The three main points of why such a title has been chosen will be discussed: how people were treated before the Declaration of Independence, how people felt being under British control, and how life was when the Declaration of Independence was established. The title of this chapter is “Tyranny is Tyranny” because tyranny was the exact word to describe how people were treated before the Declaration of Independence was established. Colonists under the control of Great Britain were treated unfairly and miserably. Lower classes of people had to pay taxes even though they couldn’t “make a dumpling to feed their hunger.” Higher classes were not threatened as much because they actually...
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... Write one or two paragraphs in each section. Include citations for your sources. Documents | Summary | What was its influence on the Constitution? | Magna Carta | Charter drawn up in the attempts to stave off civil war against King John in 1215. The Magna Carta gave Englishmen certain human rights, freedom of religion, reform of justice system and regulated officials. The Magna Carta limited the king’s power and created what we know today as parliament. | Freedom of Religion, a maintained justice system allowing men a fair trial, freedom from oppression and unlawful persecution, that not one man should lead a nation solely, but a group of officials, and checks and balances. | Mayflower Compact | Men aboard the Mayflower bound for Northern Virginia in 1620 decided to land in what we know as Massachusetts. They signed the Mayflower Compact to enable that crew of men the right to self govern and have equal rights. | First constitution signed in The New World, organizing a local government of an elected governor and officials to regulate laws, and taxes. Basis for self government. | Articles of Confederation | With growing popularity in the ideas of independence from England, the colonies needed a way to unite them but not take away individual state/colony rights. Written in 1777 but not approved by all states until 1781. | Gave the idea of a central government while keeping most power within each individual state. Unified the sovereign states forming what we know as...
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...University of Phoenix Material Influences on the Constitution Table Write one or two paragraphs in each section. Include citations for your sources. |Documents |Summary |What was its influence on the Constitution? | |Magna Carta |The Magna Carta was signed between the Barons of Medieval England and King John. The |The Magna Carta established the right of due process and provided a basis of higher law that could not | | |Great Charter was signed at Runnymeade near the Windsor Castle and was an attempt by |be altered by executive mandate or legislative acts ("Magna Carta: Cornerstone Of The U.s. | | |the Barons to prohibit the King from abusing his power over the people ("Magna |Constitution", n.d.). | | |Carta", 2000-2012).. | | | |The Magna Carta consists of 63 clauses, many of the clauses address the English legal |Magna Carta: Cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution. (n.d.). Retrieved from | | |system. It states that every man shall...
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...Mayflower, the new settlers from Plymouth created a contract with fair and equal laws, for the “general good”. The Mayflower settlers knew from previous attempts without some type of government they would fail. It allowed them to practice Protestant instead of the Church of England and other liberties without command. ReferenceFeatured Documents (unkn) The Mayflower Compact. Retrieved from http://www.allabouthistory.org/mayflower-compact.htm on June 6, 2011. | The Constitution was created on the same bases as the Mayflower Contract. That all men are created equal, and each person has the right to unalienable rights. | Articles of Confederation | Written by the Second Continental Congress of the 13 states, shortly after the Declaration of Independence. The document gave congress power to regulate foreign affairs, war, the postal service, appoint military officers and control...
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...AnRachel Breuer An American History of Freedom Throughout history, the word “freedom” has taken on many definitions. After all, freedom is a relative concept in general. There is no one set definition, as the word itself changes over time and is based off the society in which the word is being applied. As Eric Foner points out, “The Story of American freedom is not simply a saga of a fixed set of rights to which one group after another has gained access, but a tale of debates, disagreements and struggles, with lots of bumps and wrong turns along the way.” Throughout our history, America has been through several wars and problems, each causing a change in its definition of freedom; helping form the free country that it is today. Freedom has always been a topic in the American way of life. This does not mean however, that freedom has meant the same thing to all Americans at all points in time. In fact, over time, the focus of freedom has changed dramatically over time. During the American Revolution, soon-to-be Americans fought in the name of liberty and independence. Britain had always had a view of freedom as the submission to authority. When Americans arrived on the land, they realized this was no longer appropriate. Thomas Jefferson maid this clear as liberty was included as one of the “unalienable rights” in the Declaration of Independence. (http://www.dannyscl.net/academic/). The problem, however, is that the Declaration of Independence asserted that “all men are created...
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...ENG 2004 Elizabeth Hart September 2, 2010 Reading Response #1 Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments 1. Title: The title relates to the section, because it resembles the three part structure of the Declaration of Independence. The section was written in Seneca Falls at a women’s rights convention. The title also declares that the piece will be a set of sentiments, thoughts prompted by feelings. 2. Author’s Life: The women, Mott, Wright, McClintrock, and Stanton, who wrote the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiment were born in a time when women had no rights and were simply their husbands belongs. Mott and Stanton lived this discrimination first hand when they were forced to sit behind a curtain at the World Anti-Slavery Convention. From their experiences, they decided to make a change for future generations and declare that men and women are equal. 3. Response/Questions: I found it interesting that Mott, Wright, McClintrock, and Stanton chose to adamantly express that God/the Creator intended men and women to be equal. Also, the women used “he” repeatedly, showing that men were the cause of the women’s grievances and inequality. 4. Protest/Solution: The Seneca Falls Convention protested the inequality between men and women. They protested for the same inalienable rights that men were given to by the Declaration of Independence. Henry David Thoreau from Resistance to Civil Government 1. Title: As indicated by the title, Thoreau writes against the civil...
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...of the same aspects of it. The dream is dependent mainly on the setting of where one lives and one‘s social status. For example, The Declaration of Independence was by Thomas Jefferson, who was an upper class white male. He wanted freedom, but freedom for people like himself that were white landowning males. Martin Luther King, in his I Have a Dream speech, also called for freedom, but mostly for African Americans like himself. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in his book The Great Gatsby, that he would have liked to eliminate the idle rich, which he was a part of. Every American dream is somewhat different, but they all relate to the times that one lives in. In The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson asked for equality for white landowning males. His American dream was to be free from Britain and to be treated equally. This dream only included people like himself, that were white men who owned land. The people that signed the document were all part of that class. They were the people leading the revolution, so Jefferson thought they should be the ones reaping the benefits. In the text, it talks about “the merciless Indian Savages.” Obviously they were not included as being equal. Jefferson also wrote “We…the Representatives of the united States of America…” He was referring to himself and everyone who signed The Declaration of Independence, none of whom were women or black. Jefferson also wrote “…that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with...
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...I am addressing the issue of the revolutionary voices during the Atlantic Revolutions to show how they contributed to the political and social transformations in Europe and in the Americas and what their limitations were. The 18th and 19th centuries marked the beginning of dramatic social and political change. There were 3 main ideals have made the largest impact today. The first principle is the ideal of equality. It stemmed from Enlightenment thinking, but quickly grew to become believed by more than just the educated elite. One famous example of this is in the Declaration of Independence where it says “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” Another example is from The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. The first point it makes is that, “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights; social distinctions may be based only upon general usefulness.” The first part of the sentence says that men are considered equal in their rights as people but not necessarily equal in...
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...could be punished except through the law of the land, a right which is still in existence today. Magna Carta was the principal document forced onto an English King by a group of his matters, the feudal barons, in an effort to limit his powers by law and protect their privileges. It was followed and directly influenced by the Charter of Liberties in 1100, in which King Henry I had specified particular areas wherein his powers have a limit. The influence of Magna Carta can be clearly seen in the United States Bill of Rights, which enumerates various rights of the people and restrictions on government power, such as: No person shall be ... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. Article 21 from the Declaration of Rights in the Maryland Constitution of...
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...University of Phoenix Material Influences on the Constitution Table Write one or two paragraphs in each section. Include citations for your sources. |Documents |Summary |What was its influence on the Constitution? | |Magna Carta |The Magna Carta was a set of laws generated by the barons of |When the thirteen US colonies became independent from Great Britain in 1776, it | | |England and the Archbishop Steven Langton of the Catholic |needed to set a central government to pass laws and enforce the laws. During this | | |Church to limit the powers that King John possessed during the |time many British settlers followed the great Britain law that was put in place by | | |12 century and of any king thereafter. The Magna Carta came |the Magna Carta. In 1789 the United States Constitution was ratified and many of the| | |into law on June 15, 1215 and marked the beginning to a |Magna Carta laws were introduced to the foundation of what is the United States | | |constitutional England where the laws were promised to be good |Constitution. Such laws as that of no man should...
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...Freedom of Assembly Maria R. Quinionez-Sheehan St. Gregory’s University Freedom of Assembly Out of the first ten Amendments, called the Bill of Rights, the one that is considered the most important is the first Amendment. It is considered as such because it protects the rights that we hold dearest, and it is important to a democratic government by stating what it is not allowed to do. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration , 2014). In 1787, James Madison received a letter from Thomas Jefferson discussing how wrong it was to not include a Bill of Rights in the Constitution, and made the statement "A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth" (Exploring Constitutional Conflicts, 2014). One of the important rights guaranteed in the first Amendment, freedom of assembly, it is important to a properly functioning democracy. Political parties rely on this right, ensuring that they are free to interact with others in order to inspire confidence among their constituents and hold political rallies and conventions sponsoring presidential candidates. Society as a whole relies in part on the rights guaranteed by the first amendment, and limitations imposed...
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...government if it breaks the people's contract. Locke's theory had a more direct impact on the American system of government as one can see his work and ideas in not only the Declaration of Independence, "life, liberty, and property", but also in how the American government works as a whole. Although Hobbes' Leviathan does not play a key role in our government in the sense of an "all-powerful" government, his idea that people need a single ruler to govern to "guarantee the rights of the weak against the strong" was implemented in the creation of the executive branch of the American government system. 2 Locke's ideas and theory shows up all throughout the Declaration of Independence. Three examples of this are: "all men are created equal", "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness", and "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed". These three quotes are directly related to the theory and works of John Locke. I do agree with this assessment. This could be a biased answer because I have more knowledge of Locke's work, however, after this reading I still feel the same way. There are direct connections between Lockes theory and the Declaration of Independence not only in quotes but also the feeling and emotion of the ideas presented. I think that Hobbes' theory carries a...
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