Pursuit Of Property By Thomas Jefferson Analysis

1. The term “unalienable right” refers to rights that people are born with that cannot be given or taken away. Natural human rights. I think that Jefferson found it important to assert this because the colonists felt that the British government was trying to take away their unalienable rights. After he asserts that these are rights that everyone has, he uses the rest of the paragraph to explain how these rights should be protected by government. Furthermore, he explains that any government that tries to take away these rights needs to be altered or abolished by the people. He is using these rights as a basis for why the colonists have a right to change their government.
2. The phrase “pursuit of property” is narrow. It really only applies to the rich people who can gain property and therefore the right to vote. However, the phrase “pursuit of happiness” is broad and ambiguous. People can interpret it in any way they choose. For rich people it could mean wealth and/or property. For poor people it could mean finding a slightly better job, learning a trade, or earning enough to buy a better …show more content…
According to the Declaration, yes, the people had a right to abolish or change their government. The Declarations creates a soiled argument by first stating that people have certain rights, including life, liberty, and happiness. Next, the government is created to secure these rights for the people. It is all about the people. All of the power that the government has is from the people. The government is created by the people them to protect the people. If it fails is this endeavor, it is the rights of the people change it, because the government is for them. The colonist believed that they had suffered “a long train of abuses and usurpations” and that it was time for them to exercise their power to change their government. According to them, when a government is no longer upholding the rights of the people, the people had the right to alter or abolish