Sunday, February 5, 2012

Similarities and Differences Between the Constitution and Declaration

A huge similarity between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, is the fact that they were both written to create a fair and free government for the United States.



 In the Declaration it clearly states
 "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."
 This quote clearly shows how important that freedom and equality was to them. The colonists felt that human beings have certain rights that should not be taken away from them and they were willing to fight to protect these rights.


Later on in the Declaration there is quite a large section about how unfair and unjust the King of Great Britain was, it starts with
 "The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world."
It was followed by a long list of all that "He", the King, had done wrong. Refusing to pass laws, quartering soldiers in American homes, protecting the British through mock trials are just some injustices from that long list. The colonists had enough of his tyranny and wanted to rid themselves of it.


In Article 3 section 2 of the constitution it focused on one of the freedoms of the citizens of the United States, being the freedom to a fair trial. It states, 
"The trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed"
This shows that citizens will not be unfairly tried and will be proven guilty only when they truly are with the use of a Jury. Using a jury allows for the most unbiased opinion possible and will allow for the best possible result of the trial. This is a great freedom at the time seeing as the trials in the past were unfair due to the trials being held in British courts and always leaning towards the British side.


The Declaration of Independence and Constitution worked greatly to create a fair and free government for the citizens of the United States, who were not used to a fair or free government at all from the British Empire in the past.



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