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Declaration of Independence Le 1
Declaration of Independence Le 1
from Britain. Upset by the sudden taxes being imposed upon them groups representing the
colonies, such as the Virginia House of Burgesses, petitioned the British government to repeal
the taxes under the cry of “No taxation without representation”. Following an attempt by the
British military to seize the colonists’ weapons, which resulted in the Battle of Lexington and
Concord, the colonists began to fight for their rights to be restored. It wasn’t until just over a year
later in July of 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was ratified, that the American
Revolution was a war for independence. As a result, the Declaration of Independence to some
extent marked a turning point in American History through ushering in minor ideological
changes within the country while failing to usher in any major social changes.
The Declaration of Independence united the American colonies under the new idea of “all
men are created equal”. Following the Revolution, it was this ideology of equality that ushered in
the beginnings of societal change in America. The Declaration of Independence made the
ordinary man’s pursuit of happiness a goal of the government. This concept eliminated the prior
struggle colonists had faced as members of British society when it came to moving up the social
ladder. In America, everyone had the opportunity to improve their social status. Men and women
of all social standings were given titles of Mr. and Mrs., which had originally only been given to
members of higher society, for example. These minor changes initiated by the Declaration of
Despite the concept of “all men are created equal” ushering in basic ideological changes
in America’s early days as a country, there were larger issues regarding equality that the
Declaration of Independence failed to address. Women’s rights and slavery were two major areas
of equality which the Declaration failed to address. Following America’s gaining independence
from Britain, women in America did not gain any sort of political inclusion. Women were not
granted the ability to own any property, and in fact lost any property they may have somehow
come to own as soon as they married. With property ownership tied to one’s ability to vote,
women were rendered unable to partake in any sort of political decision making in America. The
Declaration also failed to solve the issue of slavery in early America. Despite preaching promises
of “all men are created equal”, the inequality issue of slavery in the country was not done away
with, but instead continued to grow after America gained its independence. Slaves were denied
the rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” that the Declaration had promised to
everyone. This obvious failure to truly extend the Declaration’s promise of equality for “all men”
was easily recognized; at one point seven free black men petitioned the Massachusetts
government (in the Petition of Seven Free Negroes to the Massachusetts Legislature) in attempt
to argue that, having fought alongside white American men in the Revolution, they were just as
deserving of the same rights those white Americans had. Still, the Declaration failed to provide
for any sort of recognition for rights for women and slaves in America, which would later lead to
Despite the slight ideological changes the Declaration of Independence ushered in, it
failed to contribute to any major societal evolution or developments in the time immediately after
it was ratified and put into use. Similar to the non-change of slavery failing to be done away with
via the Declaration, black people in America continued to be discriminated against well into the
1900s despite the passing of the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery. To some extent, the
aid in the evolution of any major social changes pertaining to women or slaves in the country.