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Finding the Origin of the Declaration of Independence
When writing the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers were influenced by their English Heritage and colonial experience. The Declaration of Independence is the oldest document in the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence laid the foundation of our country. You might have read these document many times, but do you know the origin of these documents?
Several documents from England were directly linked to the Declaration of Independence. Those documents are, the Magna Carta, the Petition of Rights, and the Declaration of Rights.Magna Carta is thus the oldest documents in England and the first document that went against Monarchy in England. This brilliant document brought a limit to the king’s power and you will learn how they tied with the Declaration of Independence. The story of the Magna Carta starts with King John. It was the 15th of June 1215 when the Magna Carta was put into order. On that day, Parliament forced King John to sign the Magna Carta or the great charter. King John was a tyrant and ineffective ruler. He ignored the customs of Feudalism; He raised taxes without consent; He had courts decide cases by his opinion. To limit his power, the archbishop of Canterbury wrote the Magna Carta. But John refused to sign twice. Under huge pressure from the Barons, John signed it with all the rights he had to follow. All the rights they wrote in the Magna Carta were the things he did wrong. King John placed himself and England's future sovereigns and magistrates within the rule of law. Those include trial by jury, independent courts, protection from unnecessary searches, loss of life and loss of property. From June 15,1215, all the monarchs had to follow all these laws, otherwise would be beheaded.
Among these rights that the Founding Fathers got from the Magna Carta were used in the Declaration of Independence. Trial by Jury in the Declaration of Independence said, “For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury.”
It also stated Independent courts as, “He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.”
These laws were created because to protect the country from tyrant kings like John in the United States.
Another important document of England called the Petition of Rights 1628 added more rules to the Magna Carta: Taxes must be collected by Parliament; no housing of troops; no imprisonment without trial; and the king must obey all laws. The Declaration of Rights greatly affected the Founders when they drafted the Declaration of Independence. Here are some examples.
In the Declaration of Independence, no housing of troops was stated as, “ For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us.”
In 1689, English Parliament passed the English Bill of Right. This document officially rendered England a constitutional monarchy where Parliament, not the king, made the laws, levied the taxes, and maintained the army. It stated everything king James II did wrong. “He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.” “He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.”
New rights were instituted in the Bill of Right, e.g., right of free elections, speedy trials, no unfair bail, petitioning the king, no unusual punishment, keeping army at peace, and keeping and carrying weapons. Most of these rights were restated the Declaration of Independence
Philosophers also had an important role on the Declaration of Independence. Those Philosophers include Voltaire, John Locke, and other important people through out history.
Besides the ancient documents from England, some Philosophers also had influence on the Declaration of Independence. John Locke was the person that had the greatest influence on the Declaration of Independence. He wrote and researched about Natural Rights. Natural rights are rights that can never be taken away from any person. In the Declaration of Independence it says, “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 rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Indeed, Thomas Jefferson got this statement from George Mason. George Mason then got that quote from John Locke.
Locke created natural rights and wrote many quotes on America. He also visited America and commented on America itself, its government, and civil society. He said, “In the beginning all the world was America.” He talked about our government, “ The great and chief end, therefore, of men’s uniting into commonwealths and putting themselves under government, is the preservation of their property.” Locke said this about civil society, "Men being, as has been said, by Nature, all free, equal and independent, no one can be put out of this Estate, and subjected to the Political Power of another, without his own Consent. The only way whereby any one divests himself of his Natural Liberty, and puts on the bonds of Civil Society is by agreeing with other Men to joyn and unite into a Community . . ..”.When creating the Declaration of Independence what colonial experiences did the Founder Fathers use? They used important documents such as the Mayflower Compact, The Royal Proclamation, and The Resolutions of the Continental Congress, The Articles of Association, and The Virginia Declaration of Independence.
Jefferson used the Virginia Declaration of Independence created by George Mason because Mason was the first to write a declaration. Here is an example, “That all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.”
Jefferson wrote about how King George the III were taxing us without consent. He wrote, “For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.”
As colonists we showed our hatred at the harbor when we dumped their tea. We made sure that got to King George III.
The Boston tea Party connected to the Declaration of Independence because Thomas Jefferson specifically said that, “He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.”
When creating the Declaration of Independence, our founding Fathers were influenced by their English heritage and colonial experience. Great leaders and philosophers also influenced our founding Fathers. “We are endowed by certain unalienable rights that among these are life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” The Magna Carta was the first start to the Declaration of Independence, the Petition of rights, and then the English Bill of Rights. Benefited from the protection that they instituted among us by having Juries and National guards.
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