Man Pham

September 18, 2016

Declaration Essay
The Declaration Essay

Our nation began to form once we settled down and created the first 13 colonies, all of
which were ruled under the powerful motherland, or Great Britain. The motherland that took
their money by enforcing taxes, placed soldiers at the colonists’ homes without requesting
permission, and even unfair trades with exports and imports. When the colonists understood the
motives of their government, they decided to have a departure by creating The Declaration of
Independence. “​By issuing the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental
Congress on July 4, 1776, the 13 American colonies severed their political connections to Great
Britain. The Declaration summarized the colonists’ motivations for seeking independence”
(​Milestones: 1776–1783 - Office of the Historian 1​). With the Declaration, it created their
independence from the mistreated ways by Great Britain and it formed the rights and freedom
that they wanted. In the Declaration, it states “​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.” This statement can be interpreted many ways, most of which are quite similar,
stating that when a government isn’t using their powers for the greater goods, then it’s the choice
of the people to create a decision to change or make anew of the government. The government as
of now has been honored up to the Declaration of Independence, however, there are always flaws
and changes that can be altered to improve the government more so.
One of the ways the Declaration of Independence has been honored up-to-date is with the
separation of power by the 3 branches formed to create the government. It asserted, “​The
Constitution of the United States divides the federal government into three branches to ensure a
central government in which no individual or group gains too much control​” ​(​Branches of
Government 1​). With each of the branch, comes equal powers to provide more superior or
inferior being. The Legislative branch, made up of Congress, creates the laws. Then the law gets
carried onto the Executive branch, with the President/Vice and Cabinet, that fortifies the law and
finally passing it to the Judicial branch, with the Supreme Court and smaller courts, who
enforces and makes sure every law abiding citizen holds up to the law. Even though some may
argue that the Executive branch may have the most power between the 3 branches because that’s
where the President works, that may not be the case. Just because of the presidential candidate
works at that specific branch, the branch doesn’t automatically qualify to be the most powerful, it
is due to the job that each separate branch upholds that creates the equality in power. No one
branch can uphold all the responsibility and all work as one to divide the job, with making,
enforcing and applying the laws. Comparing this with the quote from the Declaration of
Independence, it shows how far the government has gone since 1776. With only one large
government ruled by Great Britain, our society now has a central government, but in which is
controlled by 3 branches that ensures equal power to the government.
The second way that the Declaration of Independence is honored is by the freedom and
rights that the citizens have. By the statement “... it is the Right of the People to alter or to
abolish it, and to institute new Government,” it demonstrates citizens who have freedom and
rights. That shows how citizens have honored the Declaration since it was created because they
have rights to make their own decisions. Although a current event has occurred with Colin
Kaepernick and his choice to be seated during the national anthem may be arguable, there is a
claim for his reasoning. He states, “​I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a
country that oppresses black people and people of color" ​(Wyche 6​). The significance behind the
event is because he displayed his choice in public and was aimed as a target because he didn’t
stand up for the anthem as everyone else around him did. And because of his public display, he
was targeted by everyone because they thought he was disrespecting the anthem and it’s means,
but all he was showing was his view on the oppression of colored people. Not only that but there
has been many shootings reported that have occurred with colored people as well, and pointing
that out, that shows how Kaepernick may have been trying to point out what racial injustice is for
colored people. Although there may be current events that have some negative view of citizens
displaying a negative view on the anthem or racial injustice, we still honor the Declaration
because we show our rights and freedom in different ways. Even if the public doesn’t fully agree
with a decision made, with the idea of rights and freedom, we still are able to use that rather than
not have it at all.
As of now, the progress that the nation has made since the Declaration of Independence
was written has been excelling. With the government changing from having one governor of
powering to having 3 separate branches that divide the power. Making it easier for the
government to control as well as the people to have equality in words without having to make
their own decisions for the government. Then there are the people’s rights and freedom that has
been given to them for their own use to stand for what they believe is right, even if that means
being singled out and being a target for the whole community. As for improvements, there are
always changes to come, but as of now, people just have to be more open to ideas and thoughts
of other people. Just because there’s someone who doesn’t follow what the rest of the people are
doing, doesn’t mean he/she is wrong. That just means they’re open for different interpretations
and ideas that come to them, and with that, the Declaration of Independence has been honored
greatly.
 Sources
● https://history.state.gov/milestones/1776-1783/declaration
"Milestones: 1776–1783 - Office of the Historian." ​U.S. Department of State​. U.S. Department of
State, n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.
● https://www.usa.gov/branches-of-government
"Branches of Government." ​Official Guide to Government Information and Services​. N.p., n.d. Web.
02 Nov. 2016.
● http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000691077/article/colin-kaepernick-explains-wh
y-he-sat-during-national-anthem
Wyche, By Steve. "Colin Kaepernick Explains Why He Sat during National Anthem." ​NFL.com​. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.