"Beyond their shared labor experiences and dreams, the diverse American people discovered a tie that binds - the Declaration of Independence, with equality as a principle for everyone, regardless of race or religion. Moreover, they were prepared to fight and even die for this 'self-evident truth' in two of the nation's most horrendous conflicts - the Civil War and World War II" (Takaki 14-15).
This quote highlights the spirit of the American people - the want to be free and to take initiative for protecting that freedom. It also points out how the Declaration united the colonists, which was perfect timing for the revolution. The Declaration provided a means to unite the people of America together for fighting for their freedom in the revolution.
"In many schools, however, students were learning about freedom and equality as they recited the Gettysburg Address and the Declaration of Independence. 'Here the children learned about democracy or at least the theory of it,' said a University of Hawaii student. They were taught that honest labor, fair play, and industriousness were virtues" (Takaki 250).
The last part of the quote underlines what America was founded upon: "honest labor, fair play, and industriousness were virtues." It is these virtues which helped America succeed as an independent nation. Without honest labor, the colonists could not have started businesses that supported the families in the colonies. Without fair play, the colonists could not have trusted each other, which would then cause the colonists not to be united together for the revolution. Finally, without industriousness, America could not have happened, because it is the industries that were started in the colonies that helped America be independent from Britain. The goods that were made in America made it so that the citizens would not have to be dependent on Britain for the importation of goods. These values were critical in the starting point for America as an independent nation.
In the article "The Stylistic Artistry of the Declaration of Independence", the author writes,
"Labeling the Americans "one people" and the British "another" was also laden with implication and performed several important strategic functions within the Declaration. First, because two alien peoples cannot be made one, it reinforced the notion that breaking the "political bands" with England was a necessary step in the course of human events. America and England were already separated by the more basic fact that they had become two different peoples. The gulf between them was much more than political; it was intellectual, social, moral, cultural and, according to the principles of nature, could no more be repaired, as Thomas Paine said, than one could "restore to us the time that is past" or "give to prostitution its former innocence." To try to perpetuate a purely political connection would be "forced and unnatural," "repugnant to reason, to the universal order of things" (Stephen E. Lucas).
This passage points out the significance of the Declaration of Independence highlighting the fact that the Americans are one people. This constitutes that the American people are not connected to England, and that if the Americans were to revolt, the war would not be a civil war if the two people were separate to begin with. The passage also highlights how living in America transformed the colonists into having not only political views different from the Englanders, but also social, moral, cultural, etc. views that were different. Living in America taught the colonists to become very independent and to view moral and social issues on a whole new level that was different than the views of the people in Britain.
No comments:
Post a Comment