The Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence

While writing the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson foresaw the potential for immense transformations for the United States. He envisioned a country separate from the dictatorial English rule. “The Declaration embodied many of the ideas that separated the colonies from England and thus began the process of creating a new country out of the fray.” (Unknown, p.2) However, creating a new country was no easy task. Many ideas that were presented in the document were considered very radical and facilitated the expansion of a democracy. Within this paper the radical themes of freedom of religion, democracy vs. monarchy, and taxation without representation will be analyzed and discussed.

In a monarchial society, independence is limited, if present at all. The people were ruled by the inherited leader and were forced to follow the ways of their rulers. They were in a sense, slaves to the sovereign; where they were required to participate in the religious conviction of the preferred beliefs. Just imagine what it must feel like to be forced to believe or follow a way of life that is contradictory to your own true way of life. When it is thought about on a personal level, it is no wonder why this “radical” idea was included in this document of freedom. The sole purpose of freedom of religion

was to separate church and state. This was a very radical movement because the combination of church and state was standard for the colonists. Although this was a positive change for the settlers, they had trouble grasping the concept of the separation. Thus this transformation took a very long time to transpire. Thomas Jefferson strongly believed that it is the right of each individual person to decide for them what religion they chose to follow. The following citation is a direct quote from Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence explaining his views on this issue.

“… the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” … “that to right themselves by abolishing the forms