Declaration of Independence

Though I have always considered the Declaration of Independence perhaps the most important document ever produced in America, it is even more awe-inspiring to consider its creation in terms of its meaning for humanity as a whole. Thomas Jefferson was not just writing for the colonists who sought liberty from the oppression of Britain; he wrote that all men are "created equal" and are "endowed with certain inalienable rights." I find the use of these phrases interesting when several of the founding fathers, including Jefferson, owned slaves; however, I understand that a clear definition of freedom and equality for all men (and women) would be a progressive process spanning the next about two hundred years. I was therefore very intrigued to read for the first time Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence. In it, he lays the fault of the issue of slavery at the door of the British. This arouses within me deep curiosity as to Jefferson's true feelings about slavery. Was he conforming to social and political pressures? Did he have mixed feelings on the issues of the equality and inherent rights of all men?
I am so incredibly grateful for the courage, the integrity, the faith of the founding fathers who gambled their lives, families, and honor by signing their names to that famed document. The truths they compiled into that philosophical masterpiece are a testament to God's hand in the reshaping of not only America, but the very human race. It changed the way every individual viewed themselves as well as their role in society. The Declaration of Indpendence was truly an inspired work that set into motion events that would lay a groundwork that would eventually make possible the restoration of the gospel. That sacred document stands for every man's right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I hope I never come to take for granted the freedoms I enjoy, and that it wasn't an immediate result of a decision to take a stand. It was a painstaking process of lives lost, debate, and slow progress that even still continues to seek for improvement. The divinely inspired Declaration of Independence is the cornerstone of this remarkable, free nation and the world we live in today.