The Declaration of Independence – Foundation of Our Freedom and Rights
Many of the first colonists came here to find the freedom to practice their religion as they chose. Those first colonists weren’t concerned with other religions nor were many of their early governments set up to provide freedom for all religions. Typical colonies in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut set up governments based on Biblical teachings. The Puritans, especially, formed governments to allow them to have religious freedom; they did not provide for religious freedom for other religions.
Even in colonies that did not set up governments to favor the predominant religion of the citizens, professing to be a Christian was required for one to hold political office.
The Magna Carta, the Mayflower Compact, and the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut were the first documents of governance to recognize that God gives rights, not man. They were exceptional, groundbreaking landmarks in the development of government, laying a firm foundation for freedom.
As time passed and states began forming some chose to establish a state religion. South Carolina’s constitutions of 1776 and 1778 were clearly based on religion. The 1778 constitution read, “The Christian Protestant religion shall be deemed, and is hereby constituted and declared to be, the established religion of this state.”
Other colonies, such as Roger Williams’ Rhode Island colony and William Penn’s Quaker colony in PA, did not seek to enforce an established religion.
God was mentioned in legal documents of the colonies and the constitutions of the thirteen states. For example: Massachusetts – The Supreme Being, the Great Legislator of the Universe, His Divine Providence, and the Creator; Pennsylvania – the inspirer of the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, the Governor of the Universe, and the Almighty; and South Carolina – one God and the inspirer of the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
The examples above illustrate the prevailing attitudes of the people of that time regarding religion and religious freedom; to some religious freedom applied only to them and their specific religion, to others religious freedom was favored as long as the religion was Christian. A few colonies, especially in PA and RI, deliberately crafted governments that favored no one particular religion; they believed a pure religion must not have government regulation of any kind. In fact, RI reportedly accepted people from other colonies who were not able to practice their religion freely.
The colonies progressed beyond previous governments of the time in terms of establishing freedom under law. Constitutional governments were established in several states during the Revolutionary War period. John Jay, NY, and John Adams, MA, were co-writers of their state’s constitutions. In the development of the new constitutional government influences from respected men of the time, monumental achievements of previous governmental documents, and quotes and principals from state constitutions influenced the writing of the Federal Constitution. All converged at this special time in this special place.
Other nations of that time based their governments on the theory that the people are there to serve the nation or community at the least. Our founders based the government on the premise that individual freedom and liberty are foremost and the welfare of the country is improved when individuals are free. This was a monumental change in government structure compared to the rest of the world.
The great men who wrote these early governmental documents recognized the authority of God. Their documents address rights in a manner that makes it clear they understand the rights come from God and not a government.
The Declaration of Independence eloquently acknowledges this.
The Declaration of Independence
July 4, 1776
“The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America âÂ?¦
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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 are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. – That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed âÂ?¦
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We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; âÂ?¦ And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
Unalienable rights are not subject to forfeiture; i.e. an unforfeitable right.
This term was used in the Declaration of Independence purposefully to underscore the beliefs of the authors and to be an expression of the American mind. Unalienable rights refers to the idea that humans have certain rights because they are humans and these rights are given by God and can not be taken away by man or government. This phrase shows the founders’ idea of the goal of government was to preserve these God-given rights. The 13 states were uniting under an ingeniously constructed government that was unlike any other in the world at that time with the foundation that individual liberty and freedom are paramount and a society will prosper when individuals prosper. The purpose of the government is to protect and serve the people. Individual liberty under this new idea of government triumphed in the ancient struggle of government over man. To these people longing for individual liberty government was seen as necessary to maintain law for the good of society; the perfect way to reconcile the human need for liberty and freedom was to recognize God in the formation of the new government. The declaration appealed to the Supreme Judge of the World in establishing independence, freedom, and liberty.
Thomas Jefferson intentionally wrote the declaration to express deep-rooted prevailing views of the people. An 1825 letter to Henry Lee illustrated Jefferson’s goal in wording the declaration, He said the intent was not to present new governmental philosophies, but: “âÂ?¦to place before mankind the common sense of the subjectâÂ?¦intended to be an expression of the American mind.”
To Dr. James Mease, 1825, Jefferson wrote the declaration was “the genuine effusion of the soul of our country at that time.”
One goal of the Declaration of independence was to provide for individual liberty and balance that with man’s need for government. The brilliant result was a triumph of man over government and this principle was carried into the Constitution. The system of government in the constitution was built on the same foundation as the Declaration of Independence. The United States became a nation founded on principles that reflected the beliefs of the citizens. (A nation consists of people bonded together by common purpose and ideals.) The authors of the Constitution said, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” This ensured there would be no state church and the people would be free to practice their religion as they chose.
In Jefferson’s first inaugural address he spoke of the duty of the majority to respect the rights of the minority. They did not build a simple democracy, but a representative democratic republic with a system of checks and balances set forth to prevent one branch of government from gaining too much power over the other two branches. The founders believed in the right of a man to own private property, which is a function of individual liberty.
The country had to have a constitution that recognized fundamental God-given rights of men, but not a constitution based entirely on theology. The balance the founders achieved was a monumental accomplishment.
James Madison, 1787:
“We have staked the whole future of the American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future … upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to sustain ourselves, according to the Ten Commandments of God.”
