Virginia Declaration of Rights

George Mason once wrote, “We came equals into this world, and equals shall we go out of it.” Believing in the civil liberties granted to all men, Mason penned the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which guaranteed these elemental human rights to the citizens of Virginia. Fifteen years later, the document extended these freedoms to the entire nation. Establishing the groundwork for the Bill of Rights, the Virginia Declaration of Rights influences current day American topics and affairs, and the slight variation in phrasing between the two documents has transformed the analysis of the Bill of Rights and how these fundamental rights are interpreted. Major discussion revolves around the rights that are left to individual analysis. Differing viewpoints…

Mason was the primary author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and maintained his Anti-Federalist viewpoints despite being from a primarily Federalist part of Virginia. It is because of George Mason’s comment on September 12, 1787 that the bill of rights became a discussion point. He simple stated he, “wished the plan had been prefaced by a Bill of Rights,” because he thought it would give “great quiet” to the people. He thought it would only take a few hours. Hence, having the plan,…

What natural rights does the Declaration mention? Answer: Declaration has mentioned following three natural rights:  Liberty  Life  Pursuit of happiness Essentially these are rights that all individuals have at birth. The government does not give these rights, and subsequently no government can take them away. These are the basic human rights in light of all inclusive characteristic law; instead of those in view of man-made positive law. In spite of the fact that there is no unanimity as to…

In American society dating back hundreds of years, women have always been viewed in the traditional viewpoint in the role the homemaker or caretaker. Even when women break away from the stereotypical role of the housewife and enter into the workforce, they still are not given an equal opportunity at acquiring a job that is seen to be as advancing or of higher recognition, as they would like to have. This unequal treatment in the workplace based off of gender, dates back as far as 1792 when Mary…

Blacks and Latinos make up more than fifty-five percent of the current death row population, despite comprising only about twenty-five percent of the U.S. population. The majority of people waiting on death row are minority groups (“Race and the Death Penalty”). After World War II ended, the United States became the leaders in drafting an “international bill of rights” (“Drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”). This bill recognized that all people have certain inherent rights…

3.2 Human rights are made to be followed The freedom of association is the human right to congregate and express and sponsor a collective opinion without the fear of discrimination and/or authoritarian intervention (Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948). This right was violated during the Ferguson arrest, when peaceful protesting lead to authorities attacking groups with tear-gas, stun grenades and smoke bombs (Al Jazeera America). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights explicitly…

Capital punishment is a denial of the most basic human rights; it violates one of the most fundamental principles under widely accepted human rights law, in which that states must recognize the right to life. The UN General Assembly has called for an end to capital punishment and human rights organizations agree that it breaks fundamental human rights standards. In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, under Article 3 life is said to be a human right. This makes the death penalty our most…

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples The articles titled “The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples” published by the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs addresses the goals and functions of this declaration. It recognizes many of the basic human rights and freedoms of the indigenous peoples. These rights include self-determination, inalienable right to ownership, control of land, and maintaining their own political, religious, cultural, and educational…

have come so far as a species and grown from our mistakes in history, we as humans are better than that. The stories that come out of the facility are frightening, disgusting, and bewildering. In some distant generation, they will look at what that happened there and be ashamed of the way their ancestors acted towards people, and how they just ignored basic human rights. Guantánamo Bay is a United States military prison in Cuba that began as a jury rigged experiment after September 11, 2001.…

the hard work and dedication of John Peters Humphreys. Human Rights all around the world have been a cause thousands have been fighting to protect for decades. From sexism to abuse, our world has seen and participated in all kinds of prejudice. Thankfully, with time and dedication, a certain number of individuals stand out in our history on behalf of human rights. John Peters Humphrey was one of Canada’s most important human’s rights activists. With an upsetting history full of many privations,…