What Did the Founding Fathers Hope to Accomplish With the Declaration of Independence, Essay Example

That the Declaration of Independence remains the critical document in the development of the American statehood is obvious: the document laid the foundation for the development and continuous prosperity of the current American state. Now, after so many years have passed, the Declaration of Independence stands out as a tool the Founding Fathers used to achieve several specific objectives.

To begin with, the Declaration was created to explain the purposes and the need for America’s being independent from Great Britain. The Declaration confirms the need for the American people to dissolve the ties with Great Britain and to begin its independent political, economic, social, and cultural life. Such explanation was important and even critical, given that America initially sought recognition and as a result, support from foreign countries. Moreover, such explanation had to persuade those who opposed independence in America or who viewed independence as the risk to American stability in union with Great Britain.

By creating the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers also sought to create a vision of an effective government. Such government, in its turn, had to justify the need for dissolving the political ties with Great Britain. The Founding Fathers expected that the Declaration of Independence would help reduce the opposition of those, who did not believe in independence and who did not see colonization as a kind of tyranny. These, however, were not the only purposes of the Declaration, and beyond stating the need for being independent, the Founding Fathers also used the Declaration in order to explain what it meant for American states to be independent.

The Declaration of Independence refers to the right of the independent state to start and initiate wars, to make peace, to create alliances, and to develop political and economic relationships with other states. All these create a picture of freedom and independence in America. These detailed explanations, like previous explanations and descriptions, had to clarify the vision of independence for the whole nation. Those who opposed and those who supported independence had to possess a comprehensive idea of the rights and obligations of the American state in conditions of independence from Great Britain. Although the Declaration discusses these rights and criteria in very general terms, it obviously leads to the development of more specific rights and ideals of independence in America. The Founding Fathers expected that their explanations would look like a justification of their desire to become an independent state – an increasingly diplomatic step, which had to preserve good relationships with Great Britain and to develop strong political ties with other countries. This explanation had to help other states and citizens realize the major purpose of Independence in America. Also, by creating the Declaration, America wanted to show that it would follow the major principles of political conduct in its striving to become independent. The Declaration was a peaceful approach to independence in America and since that time, the country positioned itself as a legal state. Given the political opposition between opponents and proponents of federalism in America, the Founding Fathers were wise enough to use the Declaration as the source of primary knowledge about independence. To support its independent strivings, the population had to be fully aware of what it means to be independent. To support the new independent state, the population had to know the benefits and limits of independence. For these purposes, the Declaration of Independence became the first, but not the last step, in establishing America as the new independent state. The document became the starting point in the subsequent prosperity of America and its gradual movement to political, economic, and social triumph.

What were the main political ideas that served as the foundation for the arguments in the Declaration of Independence?

The main political idea that served the foundation for the argument in the Declaration of Independence was the idea of independence. Without a clear understanding of what independence is, the Declaration could not successfully fulfill its mission. For these reasons, the political idea of explaining what independence is and how it works became one of the critical elements of the Declaration.

Individual rights and government were the two other political ideas discussed in the Declaration. The Declaration confirmed the immutable and equal nature of the major human rights. The document showed human rights as not those granted by the country but as those that are granted by nature and are inseparable from individuals. The Declaration also discussed the idea of government as of the major protector of the basic human rights. The document established people as the major sources of political power. A political idea of people as the warrants of the government’s authority was discussed, too.

The third political idea, which the Declaration discussed, was the idea of the role a good government could play in replacing the power and authority of the king. In other words, the political idea of government as a reliable source of political power became the critical element of the declaration. The Founding Fathers used grievances against the King to emphasize the need for establishing the new government and the positive impact the government had to produce on politics in America.

Finally, a political idea of the people being the defendants of independence and civil rights in America was included into the Declaration. In the fourth part of the document, the Founding Fathers did not simply assert sovereignty as the core political concept, but Americans as those who would maintain and defend their civil rights and independence.

Why was the central government ineffective under the Articles of Confederation?

The Articles of Confederation and the Confederation’s vision of the government were weak in several aspects. To begin with, those who wrote the articles sought to make the central government intentionally weak against the power of states. The central government was not supported by Federal courts, and did not have the power to establish and control federal laws.

Another essential weakness was in that the powers of the central government were limited to tax policies and commerce, and as such, the central government lacked authority it needed to develop foreign political ties and maintain strong political relations with foreign states.

Also, the central government according to the Articles of Confederation could not make states obey its orders and laws. The government could not use force to make states comply with its legal and political requirements. Although the government could make states provide militia, those efforts could not guarantee political stability and centralized politics in America.