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Which Direction, America?
There have been several court cases and executive decisions that have shaped the interpretation of the US Constitution. Some examples include Brown v. Board of Education, a landmark case, in which the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The decision was based on the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection of the laws to all citizens. Another big one was Citizens United v. FEC (2010), in which the Supreme Court held that corporations have the same free speech rights as individuals and can spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns. Or there is Korematsu v. United States (1944), which challenged the legality of Executive Order 9066 (1942), signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II, and which authorized the internment of Japanese Americansi.e., basically concentration camps on the West Coast for American citizens who were of the wrong ethnicity.
I would not say that it is a matter of debate whether the goals of the Declaration of Independence are still being pursued by 21st century America. I believe that the Declaration of Independence was really a lip service-paying document used to justify a massive land grab on the part of wealthy colonists who wanted to break from the Crown. They colored their intentions in right-sounding rhetoric based on the principles of Enlightenment philosophybut the signatories were not really concerned about the ideals of Thomas Paine, whom they later treated as a pariah when he criticized the Founding Fathers for not being serious about liberty, equality and fraternity for all (Blakemore, 1995). He thought slavery ought to be abolishedthey thought otherwise. Today, it is really no different. Leaders and the elite pay lip service to whatever ideals are trendingbut they are always looking out for their own self-interest. As critics have continuously pointed out, America is not so much a country as it is a business (Bakan, 2012).
References
Bakan, J. (2012).The corporation: The pathological pursuit of profit and power. Hachette UK.
Blakemore, S. (1995). Revisionist Patricide: Thomas Paine's' Letter to George
Washington'.Clio,24(3), 269.
Declaration of Independence It is obvious, if we look at things today, that Jefferson's revolutionary vision has been achieved in America. Even more so, it has been achieved to a degree that we assume has never been reached elsewhere. On the other hand, we must admit that any such questions can also be answered "yes, to a certain degree" and we must acknowledge that this is the case for America as
Declaration of Independence The Theory of Government presented in the Declaration The author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson was greatly influenced by the political thoughts of the 17th century English philosopher John Locke and other thinkers of the European Age of Enlightenment. The theory of government presented in the Declaration is largely based on the political philosophy of Natural Rights that maintains that each individual enters a society with certain
Declaration of independence it was determined that thirteen of the countries were Free states and independent of England. Initially even under the government of England there were hardly any serious problems for the thirteen colonies. Even though it was England that hired the government holders and other main officials, colonies had very limited representation (U.S. History.Org, 1995) However England went heavily into debt. This was mainly due to the war with the
In fact, many of the ideas are taken directly from John Locke's theories, specifically the statement of the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Specifically, the declaration that "it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume...the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature...entitle them..." is a statement of both republicanism and Natural
" When that Amendment was put in, the country was very young and it was wild, with Native Americans often hostile (with good reason), with wild animals posing a threat, and with various wars (the French & Indian War; the Civil War) taking place. People needed to feel like they were protected, and the new government didn't want to take their personal means of physical protection away from them. The
Independence and Constitution Declaration of Independence to the Constitution When the American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain the Declaration of Independence stated a number of specific violations of the colonist's rights that British King George III that committed against the colonies. These were stated as the reason behind the American's right to rebel and replace the British government with one of their own. Several years later, after the Americans had