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Nicholas Fong
Professor Zitko
Political Science 1
December 3, 2015
The Declaration of Independence: Protection of Our Rights
The Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution are two very unique and
crucial documents. The Declaration of Independence was our stand against Britain, proclaiming
ourselves as an independent nation. The Constitution was created to safeguard the ideals set in
place by the Declaration of Independence, it lays down the laws and makes sure the ideals stay
standing. The Declaration of Independence set forth a basis for the Constitution to follow and
build upon. While using ideals of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution validates
these ideals, and protects them, making them perpetual. One of these documents could not exist
without the other, for the Declaration of Independence lays down the ideals and is the base of the
Constitution, and the Constitution is the laws that help to keep the Declaration of Independence
alive, relevant and followed. The principles of the Declaration of Independence, used in the
United States Constitution, protects peoples rights to equality by making obvious the universal
truths which govern us as well our natural rights, it also makes clear the necessity of popular
sovereignty which gives all people an equal say in government along with placing government
figures at a commensurate disposition with citizens. The Declaration of Independence does not

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however, only set forth ideals, it was also the first step towards breaking away from the influence
of Britain and becoming our own independent nation.
The Declaration puts very important ideals in place, such as unalienable rights. It
explicitly states in the document that We hold these truths to be self-evident, 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, very bluntly putting out the ideals it
represents. The Declaration of Independence uses important ideals such as unalienable rights to
protect our rights to equality as citizens. It does so by giving all people an equal chance in life
through the same base rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The ideal of
unalienable rights lays a foundation for equality to prosper and thrive from. With unalienable
rights everyone has the same, basic, equal starting point, what a person does from there
determines the rest of their life. The fact that everyone starts equal and everyone has equal
opportunity in life is protected by our natural, God given rights. However, unalienable rights
arent the only thing given to us by the Declaration of Independence, the ideal of popular
sovereignty is doing that as well.
Popular sovereignty was put into place by the Declaration of Independence to protect the
American citizens from their own government. Popular sovereignty protects this right by giving
everyone an equal say in their government. All people being governed get a say in government,
making everyone under the government equal. Popular sovereignty goes hand in hand with the
consent of the governed. Both or these ideals give the average citizen a say in their government,
therefore supplying common folk with more power and equating them with those in government
positions. If the government must be given consent by its people, then the government is run by

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the people therefore unable to do whatever they want. The Declaration of Independence sets
forth paramount ideals that help to protect the common citizen from facing an overly powerful
government.
The Declaration of Independence protects the ideals and rights of the people, through
things such as unalienable rights, which set everyone at a base level of rights and equalities, and
through popular sovereignty which puts the government and its people at equal rankings. The
Declaration of Independence does just as it is entitled, it declares our independence and the
ideals that go along with that. However, that is not all it was formed to do. As its title also
insinuates, the Declaration of Independence was penned to declare our independence from
Britain and establish ourselves as an independent nation.
The Declaration of Independence was a crucial piece in Americas separation from
Britain. Although America was not recognized by any other countries in the world until 1777, the
signing of this paper on July 4th, 1776 is recognized by all Americans as our official date of
independence. To Americans, the Declaration of Independence was when we first became our
own nation. This was our true start and it was what tore us away from Britains rule and started
the American Civil War. This was when America Absolved from all Allegiance to the British
Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and
ought to be totally dissolved. This statement was our proclamation and declaration of our
freedom from Great Britain. This document is what made America possible, without it, we would
likely still be under British rule.

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Although the Declaration of Independence explicitly states that We hold these truths to
be self-evident, that all men are created equal that phrase has changed as society has changed.
As time and society progress, we have come continuously closer to the true, bare bones meaning
of that phrase. This phrase has changed throughout time in a number of different ways. Some
ways it has changed include racially and sexually. The definition for all men is much different
now than it would have been in 1776 when this document was written. In 1776 when a person
would say men they would literally only mean men, specifically white men. When this was
written it was not intended to include women, or anyone of color. People back in that time did
not view women or people of color as equal to white men. Therefore when this document was
written, it was only intended to include white male adults.
Despite being written over 200 years ago, the Declaration of independence still managed
to capture the spirit of Americans. The political culture and ideology of Americans today is still
very similar to that of the Declaration of Independence, ironically possibly more now than when
it was originally written. Many people today are more forward minded and accepting than they
were in 1776. The ideology of all men being created equal would not have applied to many
people just because the majority decided that was how it should be, and society accepted that.
Nowadays, society is more accepting of all people, no matter their age, race, sex, religion,
sexuality. The phrase all men are created equal used to only apply to white males, now
however, it applies to all people, no matter what.
The Declaration of Independence also manages to embody the American ideology in
other ways. The Declaration of Independence is what made America its own country and
therefore different from Britain. Americans like to have a sense of being different together, much

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like the Declaration of Independence did for its people over 200 years ago. Americans all like to
have a sense and feeling of being unique, while also being part of something bigger than
themselves. The Declaration of Independence did this for Americans in the 1700s because while
it made them separate from Britain, it also made them part of the rest of the world. It made them
smaller, but at the same time it made them so much larger. Much like the Americans over 200
years ago felt when they separated from Britain, Americans now try to replicate that on a much
smaller scale by trying to be unique, yet banded together.
Our political culture was also captured within the words and feelings of the Declaration
of Independence in the sense that in a time of trouble, when there is a threat to our nation, we all
band together to fight said threat. This can be seen many times throughout history from the
signing of the Declaration of Independence, up to now. Back in 1776 the Americans freedom
was being taken by the British, so they banded together and fought back. The same thing
happened again in the 1940s, when America was tastelessly bombed by the Japanese. Americans
again felt pride for their great nation and all bound together to fight the Japanese and Nazi threats
of World War Two. This same patriotism can be seen again even in recent times with the recent
terrorist attacks on the Twin Terrors. Americans always seem to come together in times of threat
and trouble, displaying that same patriotism we first showed in 1776 when we proclaimed
ourselves an independent nation.
The Declaration of Independence has always played an essential part in our fantastic
nation. It is the document that lays down the ideals and principals which our country was
founded on, and not only that but it was what founded our country. The Declaration of
Independence helped to kick start the American Civil War and gain us our independence from

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Great Britain. It also gives the foundation for our countries laws, and our United States
Constitution. The Declaration of Independence is very vital to our history as a nation. Without
this singular document we would not be the great country we are today and would very likely
still be under the rule of Britain. In conclusion, the Declaration of Independence is one of the
most important documents in all of American history because it not only is the foundation for all
of our countries laws, but is also the largest reason we went to war with Britain and obtained our
freedom.