Declaration Of Independence Importance

Improved Essays
On July 4, 1776 The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the 13 colonies, to break free of Great Britain. This declaration became the foundation of the United States of America, declaring that all men are to have their natural rights. These natural rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The First settlers were Englishmen and Europeans who rejected the British Monarchy, which was the highest class due to inheritance. Settlers fleeing to the new world, (which is now North America) pursued to have their voice heard in makings of the law, religious freedom and fortune. The settlers, constructed the 13 colonies in the new world forming the beginning of North America, but remained governed by the King of Great Britain. During
…show more content…
The bill of rights amendment’s one through ten cover these unalienable rights. Amendment 5 and 6 cover ones rights to life. An example of this right, is during a criminal prosecution, an individual has the right to a fair trial. Individuals are to be free of restrictions on one’s life, behavior or political/religious views, in other words liberty according to the first amendment. Amendment two covers the pursuit of happiness, which allows an individual to live life in a way that brings them joy, as long as no illegal acts are committed and no others rights are violated. ("Celebrate America." HOME. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Oct. …show more content…
Farmer Daniel Shay, fought to close down courts to prevent placing fellow farmers from life in jail due to their tax debt. The forming of Shay’s Rebellion lead by Daniel Shay went into full effect protesting and preventing the debt collectors from their duties. Massachusetts Legislature put into effect the suppression of the rebellion. Any rebels against the state were to be charged with treason, causing many of them to flee the state. After a long fight most of shays rebellion were pardoned which lead up to the Articles of Confederation being replaced with the constitution. The constitution established structure, function and limitations of the government. (O 'Connor, Karen, and Larry Sabato. American Government: Roots and Reform. New York: Macmillan, 1993.

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Shay’s Rebellion was about a rebellion against the state of Massachusetts and their taxation methods. After the Revolutionary War, Massachusetts was in heavy debt. To pay it off as quickly as possible, the state raised taxes. Farmers could not afford the raise in tax because they had so much debt accumulated during the Revolutionary War. The farmers thought their best decision was to rebel against the state instead of paying their taxes and debts back.…

    • 579 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In 1786, Daniel Shays, a former captain in the Continental Army started a full-scale rebellion-----made up of New England farmers in Massachusetts. Shay’s Rebellion erupted when the government of Massachusetts decided to raise taxes instead of issuing paper money to pay off its debts. Daniel Shay’s Rebellion was ineffective in its goal to help lower taxes for farmers but led to Governor James Bowdoin to lose the following election. His revolt also showed Americans that the United States of America under the Articles of Confederation had many flaws. This resulted in the new constitution that greatly changed the U.S. Shay’s Rebellion was unsuccessful in its goal to help reduce taxes for farmers, but it led to Massachusetts’ Governor James Bowdoin losing the following election.…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The new Governor, John Hancock, implemented a non- rebel policy to get completely get rid of all the Shaysite rebellions. Many other states in the New England followed in his footsteps by setting up laws that wouldn’t allow their citizens to house the Shaysite rebels. Shay’s rebellion also influenced the ratification of the Constitution along with convincing government officials that the U.S needed a stronger national government. They believed a stronger national government was necessary to prevent an uprising of such large measures from happening…

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Shays Rebellion Shays’ Rebellion was the final nail in the coffin for the Articles of Confederation. It managed to serve as the catalyst for the Founding Fathers to recognize the necessity for change to a stronger and more centralized government. The rebellion highlighted several of the documents’ failings that ultimately were due to the weak and decentralized government that the Articles of Confederation established. One of the most influential events that strongly affected the US Constitution was Shays Rebellion. Shay’s Rebellion was a series of local protest in the Fall of 1786 to spring of 1787 that was led by American farmers.…

    • 1468 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I believe that James Madison was the Founding Father that made the most significant impact in shaping our government today. His efforts and contributions alone greatly benefited the entire nation. He did this through writing a majority of the Constitution, even having the moniker “Father of the United States Constitution,” drafting the bill of rights, and proposing the Virginia Plan, which is now used as a basis for today’s government. At first when America gained its independence, it did not use the Constitution as the governing document.…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Shays’s Rebellion was in essence an uprising of western Massachusetts farmers who were rebelling against the high taxes under the Articles of Confederation. Many west Massachusetts farmer were suffering from drought and early freezes, which led many of them to tack out loans from banks to survive. The rebellion was started and led by Daniel Shays, a destitute war veteran of the revolutionary war. Shays plane was to break in to banks and burn the contract and documents to make it hard for the banks to keep up with the farmer’s debt. Shays also planned to break the people out of debtor’s prison.…

    • 149 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The Declaration of Independence was written on July 4th, 1776 and believed all men were created equal and deserved certain rights like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These rights belong to everyone no matter what race,…

    • 238 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Shay's Rebellion

    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Shay’s Rebellion occurred at a time when money issues were a very serious problem for many of the states. In Massachusetts there was no money and people in the state were paying very high taxes. A group of farmers in the state, led by Daniel Shay, who were losing their lands due to foreclosure, revolted by closing the courts which, prevented the foreclosures of any more properties. A private army funded by wealthy residents of the state eventually ended the rebellion. Shay’s Rebellion would cause many Americans to question if a weak government could be effective in running the United States.…

    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The colonies eventually got so fed up with it they got together and drafted the declaration of independence based off 27 large abuses of King George III. The declaration of independence was adopted by congress July 4, 1776, which stated the 13 colonies newly independent states; better known as the United States of America. John Adams was the main leader pushing for independence; Thomas Jefferson was the main drafter of the document, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Benjamin Franklin also took part in the drafting. Congress of course had the last editing of the document itself.…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In 1492, colonization of the newly formed America began (Polk). America was known from the very beginning as the land of the free. 1760 marked the start of the American Industrial Revolution which provided much hope for prosperity. The signing of the declaration of independence in 1776 began a rise of upward mobility that lasted many centuries. The declaration states that “all men are created equal” and are given the right of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.…

    • 1353 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Without Shays’ Rebellion, our nation's leaders would not have realized the problems The Articles of Confederation caused for the people. The leaders that realized this problem were George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. They fixed this problem by starting the drafting of The Constitution at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Shay’s Rebellion was an important conflict caused by the government’s weak economic policy and led to the actual rebellion which then resulted in the Constitutional Convention.…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The Founding Fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence to ensure the prosperity and survival of the colonies and everyone living in them. The Declaration included many things the king had done that greatly angered the colonists. One of the grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence is: "For imposing taxes on us without consent. " This quote shows how the Declaration of Independence was affecting everyone because everyone pays taxes. Colonists were mad about taxes because British Parliament had decided to increase taxes not their colonial government.…

    • 270 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1. What are two problems of the Great Compromise according to the anti-federalists In order to fix the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, fifty-five delegates met in Philadelphia in 1787 and debated over the political representation in Congress. Because the delegates concerned more about their own states’ interests, the Constitutional Convention faced several problems that need a lot of works to create a Great Compromise that could resolve the delegates’ disagreement and have them to sign on the Constitution. According to the Anti-Federalists, there were two problems of the Great Compromise that were the population between large and small states, and the slaves’ population between the north and the south.…

    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    American Revolution Dbq

    • 1328 Words
    • 6 Pages

    And the ability for the document to be amended for changing times and situations is proof of innovative thinking from the founding fathers. Furthermore, this union of ideals and standards created a government that is “both specific enough to outline the basic powers of our government and flexible (through the process of amendments) that it meets the challenges of contemporary life. It is not a static document of the late 18th century, but a living and breathing source of democracy” (Political Science Research Paper Topic Suggestions on the…

    • 1328 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Federalist and Anti-Federalist Point of View The United States of America decided to break away from The British Empire. The first constitution of the United States was the Articles of Confederation, which imposed strict limitations on the authority of the federal government. Most of the power rested in the hands of state governments. The government of the United States under the Articles of Confederation was weak, could not enforce laws, raise an army, regulate commerce, or levy a tax.…

    • 1457 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays