Well it's been a nice ride but we're here, the last paragraph of the Declaration of Independence.
Jefferson has laid out his claims, his beliefs and previous actions, now he has one move left: to explain the final move in America's conflict with Britain. Let's break it down, just as we have every other part and take the time to reflect on one of the most influential documents you will ever read: "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; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. 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."
0 Comments
Whenever I get my students to write full essays, the one thing that brings them more pain, consternation and anguish than anything is the conclusion.
Why do I have to write a conclusion, I already said what I needed to say? The conclusion allows you to surmise your point and make a larger statement towards the myopic argument you have been proving throughout the essay. I mean most famous speeches are famous because of the end. "I Have a Dream" is not uttered until the final third of the speech. "A government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the Earth." "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." (Not last line but next to last paragraph). Jefferson clearly knew the importance of a conclusion because I would argue his conclusion is the last three paragraphs. While we obsess over the first two paragraphs in American history, there is tons of important material in this conclusion. So let's break it down, shall we? But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
So we have been talking about the causes of revolution and Jefferson's cry that bloody insurrection must always be the course of last resort. Yet, in his next breath he takes something so radical and adds another "r" word: responsibility. Revolution should never be used for trivial causes but when the "long train of abuses and usurpations" merit it, we do not just have the option but the duty. Oh man, no one likes the word duty. This election year I am sure you remember your parents telling you it is your DUTY to vote. Duty involves obligation, being forced do something whether you want to or not. Wait, isn't that a violation of liberty? Should I not get the right to choose whether or not to overthrow my government? Is Jefferson being a hypocrite (again?) or is there more going on in this part of the Declaration of Independence? Let's dig deeper. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
So for awhile we have been focused on the idea of natural rights and breaking down what words like life, liberty and happiness really mean. Now the Declaration of Independence moves forward and says that rights mean nothing if they are just philosophical principles argued about by intellectuals like John Locke and Jean Jaques Rousseau. We need government and this is why: "to secure these rights". This is the goal of government and Jefferson lays forth pretty heavy consequences for failure to live up to these expectations. Let us look at this passage and examine the role of government, the role of the people in government and how the "voice" of the people is measured. We continue our journey through the Declaration of Independence and we have now reached the final part of the most famous phrase in the document and, perhaps, American history.
This last inalienable right is very intriguing for two reasons. One, Jefferson is going off the Locke script and not saying "property" which the political doctor said was a natural right in his Two Treatises of Government. Two, Jefferson has the word "pursuit" in his right. In other words, we do not have an inalienable right to be happy but we have the right to "pursue" it. Are we pursuing it like Usain Bolt in the 100 meters or like Don Quixote's windmills? .Is this pursuit more like Captain America or Captain Ahab? Why jettison the word "property" and why replace it with such an odd phrase "the pursuit of happiness"? Let's try to figure it out. Photo credit here
Last week, Caitlin Lansing bravely wrote a guest contribution to this site. Here are my official thoughts. I may not have known Chipotle was founded in 1993 but I do remember the lines out the door when it debuted in Charlottesville in 2005. I didn't get it. I mean Qdoba also had Mexican food and it did not feature a 30-minute line. Even better, I don't have to stand in line and make snap decisions. What salsa? What condiments? Do I want to spring for guacamole...I mean it's just staring at me, begging me to add it on? If this order is messed up, I only have myself to blame. So many options, so little time to make the decision. What if I choke under pressure? Are they judging me for getting a burrito and not a burrito bowl? What if I just really like tortilla? Qdoba's fascism may be limiting and the opposite of empowerment but it is quick and efficient. It's one less decision that I have to think about in my life. In fact, I heard this anecdote about politicians. The reason so many of them wear the same red and blue color patterns for ties is that they are so overwhelmed by life-altering decisions every day that they just want one decision to be preordained. So what does that say about our society that we have more choices at Chipotle than we do in the election booth? I cannot tell you how many people think history is easy.
I mean yes memorizing facts may not seem all that difficult. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, it declared independence from England and it was primarily written by Thomas Jefferson. That is straight forward but why they wrote it, how they wrote it and most specifically, WHO wrote it complicate the matter greatly. No one is more confusing than Thomas Jefferson, as this article explains. Jefferson was so great he died impoverished. He was so enlightened he owned 600 humans. He was so visionary that he helped build a government but punted on issues like racial and gender equality. He railed against the usurpations of England and the Federalist Party and yet his most famous action as President is nowhere to be found in the Constitution. Is Jefferson a racist jerk? Is he an idiot? Is he a tyrant in the guise of the common man? Revolutions are bloody.
As Malcolm X put it in his famous Ballot or the Bullet Speech: "When this country here was first being founded, there were thirteen colonies. The whites were colonized. They were fed up with this taxation without representation. So some of them stood up and said, "Liberty or death!" I went to a white school over here in Mason, Michigan. The white man made the mistake of letting me read his history books. He made the mistake of teaching me that Patrick Henry was a patriot, and George Washington – wasn't nothing non-violent about ol' Pat, or George Washington. "Liberty or death" is was what brought about the freedom of whites in this country from the English." So perhaps it is particularly poignant that the first inalienable right given to all men in the Declaration of Independence is: life. Something that was being taken away on both sides of this conflict every single day. However, what does this really mean? Were the Founding Fathers against the death penalty? Unlikely considering they lived in a world where stealing a horse could be punished by death. So is it conditional and, if so, how can it be an inalienable right? Last time we looked at the most important sentence in the Declaration of Independence and spent roughly 100 sentences analyzing it.
It may be disproportional but I liked it. You can find that analysis here. Now that we established that all men are created equal now let's see what the equality entails in the next of Jefferson's self-evident "truths".. "...that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Welcome back to our intellectual journey through the Declaration of Independence.
Last time we delved into the causes/definition of revolution and why we seem so obsessed with it in modern times. Now we have reached the second sentence, the most famous line in the entire document. In fact, I do not find it hyperbolic to call it the most important sentence in American history. Why? This sentence will define what it means to be an American because it so specific and yet so vague at the exact same time. A sentence malleable enough to the individual reading it to interpret millions of ways and yet have enough girth to it to give it meaning. So before we can go any further I think we have to really, intensely scrutinize this sentence, which will be the point of today's article. Here it is: 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. Now I know to most of us this is just something to memorize for a test but have you ever really sat and thought about what is being said here? I am going to try and show you my thinking right now. |
AuthorFollow me @MrG_Unit Archives
August 2016
Categories
All
|