Guest Column: Declaration of Independence – What is it? – TAPinto.net

The definition of a free country is where the government does not control what people say or do for political reasons and where people can express their opinions without punishment. The transition from a totalitarian state to a free country will be long and slow.

In a 2017 report Freedom House said that of the 195 countries assessed, 87 (45%) were rated Free, 59 (30%) Partly Free, and 49 (25%) Not Free.

The United States Declaration of Independence is the statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at the Pennsylvania State House (now known as Independence Hall) in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776.  After ratifying the text on July 4, Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms.

The founding fathers and many other patriots risked and gave their lives, freedom and treasures to birth a new nation.  This document, for the first time in history, sets forth the rights of the governed people, and not of the government.

I urge you to take a few minutes to read the Declaration of Independence, the greatest document ever devised by man.

What does the Declaration of Independence do?

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.

What is the main idea of the Declaration of Independence?

The Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal and are entitled to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”  These ideas would be expressed again in the new republic’s Constitution. These ideas form the basis of our beliefs about the role of our government in our lives today.

What are the basic rights in the Declaration of Independence?

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.“

Where is the real Declaration of Independence?

The Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom. Located on the upper level of the National Archives museum, is the permanent home of the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, and Bill of Rights.