The Declaration of Independence Essay Example

The Declaration of Independence has four main ideals. These four ideals include, equality, unalienable rights, consent of the governed, and the right to abolish or alter the government. The most important of these ideals is the right to alter or abolish the government. Equality is the state of being equal. According to document A, this means equal opportunities to succeed in life, as well as having the chance to become what you want to become. If equality didn’t exist, many people in society would be treated very poorly. However, equality cannot exist when the people have no rights, control over the government, and the ability to alter or abolish the government. Without the other ideals in the constitution, equality means nothing. 

The unalienable rights that are stated in the Declaration of Independence include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In document B, it also states that all men are created equal. The right of life means that everyone has the right to live, the right of liberty means the right to freedom, and the pursuit of happiness means that everyone has the right to try to achieve happiness. If human beings did not have these rights, equality wouldn’t be as prominent as it is in our society. Equality exists within our society due to these unalienable rights that everyone possesses. However, the ideals of the consent of the governed and the right to alter or abolish the government allow citizens to protect these rights. The unalienable rights wouldn’t matter if people couldn’t protect them from the government. 

The second most important ideal in the Declaration of Independence is the consent of the governed. The concept of the consent of the governed is the people possessing all of the power within a government. In document C it shows what occurs when the government doesn’t contain the consent of the governed. Students in China were protesting because they condemned the corruption of the government. The government took action and killed up to 3,000 people. The consent of the governed makes sure that the government itself doesn’t get too much power, as well as keeping the rights of the people protected. When the power is in the people’s hands it allows them to have a say in the government. However, if citizens don’t have the right to alter or abolish the government, it doesn’t matter that they have that power. 

The most important ideal within the Declaration of Independence is the right to alter or abolish the government. The right to alter or abolish the government is given to the people. The people are encouraged to use this right when the government has become destructive. This allows citizens to create equality, protect the unalienable rights, and make the government based on the consent of the governed. Without the right to alter or abolish the government citizens cannot make these ideals a guarantee within their lives. The right to alter or abolish the government is what created all the other ideals within our society. The right to alter or abolish the government is the most important ideal within the Declaration of Independence because it protects and allows for the other three ideals.