The Declaration of Independence’s paragraph of basic premises or assumptions has become America’s founding creed. These premises have become widely accepted among the general public, with politicians usually not daring to question them.
The Declaration’s Influence
The Declaration proved influential in America, where citizens began to measure public policy by its standards. It also played a role in the debate over slavery, with opponents arguing that the institution was inconsistent with the Declaration’s pronouncement that all men are created equal and have a natural right to liberty.
Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is a famous example of the Declaration’s influence. The address begins, ‘Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation…’
The Declaration’s sentiments have also exercised influence beyond America’s borders, with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 affirming the individual’s rights. However, the Declaration is sometimes manipulated by unscrupulous hands for propaganda purposes.
Education is the remedy for the misuse of the Declaration. It is part of a citizen’s job to inform the rising generation of what the Declaration really said, what it really means, and why it is important.
Original reporting: Clark County Today (Vancouver WA) — read the source article.
