The Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson’s 1776 Declaration of Independence was shaped by the evident working principles of historic foreign governance, and personal experience; the Declaration came from a Biblical Christian worldview, providing a solid foundation to build a nation on. Jefferson’s philosophy of government shaped many modern civil attributes, including common laws and contracts that established both essential conditions and exclusions. Foreign governance provided effective common laws while rejecting the influence of aristocracy. Men were not to be subservient to each other, instead, citizens demanded a nation founded under the intrinsic laws of God, defended by its government.
The Declaration of Independence was shaped by a conglomeration of working ideas and innovative practices, compiled into a 1333-word revolutionary proclamation; its objective sought to establish an official separation from the rule of England’s King, while laying the foundation for the basis of individual sovereignty and human rights. Historian James McClellan writes that the Declaration of Independence exists in two sections; the first presents, “a philosophical justification for secession, based on the theory that all men are entitled to certain basic rights, that the purpose of government is to protect those rights, and that the people have the right to abolish that government if it fails to fulfill its obligations, (McClellan, J., 122).”
Jefferson’s second section of the Declaration of Independence features a list of grievances against the King and Parliament, (McClellan, J., 122). Jefferson declared that the thirteen colonies were, ‘‘Free and Independent States” that “absolved from all allegiance to the Crown;’’ it was the Declaration of Independence that designated the established colonies to be called “States,” allowing each to operate independently according to the needs of its citizens.
The Declaration of Independence noted citizens’ right to trial by jury. Jefferson implemented an effective strategy in the crafting of the document, stating that its purpose was, “not to find out new principles, or new arguments never before thought of…but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject,” (McClellan, J., 125).
The Declaration of Independence allowed Jefferson, the Founders, and American colonists to declare consensus on a primary understanding of human rights, years before the founding of the United States of America occurred; the Declaration acknowledged that these natural laws exist independent of government, and that natural law should be considered the foundation of a Constitutional Republic. James McClellan describes that “the doctrine of natural law is basically an assertion that the law is a part of ethics,” revealing the government’s position to acknowledge these inherent values, and protect them. McClellan reminds us that Aristotle’s political philosophy rejected equality, denying that all men were made in the image of God; instead, relying on slavery and servitude in order to bolster the nation. Instead, the Declaration revealed that “all men are created equal,” (Acts 17:26), long before true civic equality could be expressed.
Natural law is something that previous governments had rejected for centuries; these laws provide man with an inherited level of reserved power. As James McClellan writes “The term is confusing at first because it suggests the laws of physical nature, such as the laws of chemistry or physics. Natural law refers, however, not to physical but to human nature,” (McClellan, J. 126). Natural laws require religious liberty; Jefferson was aware of this sine qua non, and drafted a bill adopted by the Virginia House of Delegates on January 16th, 1786 titled the ‘Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom,’ which “separated church and state at the national level” (Hall, M.D., 63).
Religious freedom was a central component to the founding of America; Thomas Jefferson recognized that when man was held accountable for their actions by an omnipotent Creator, he would initiate consistent self-control, in order to remain in good favor with God; ensuring the self-regulation of personal safety, domestic sustainability, and generational prosperity. Historian Mark David Hall writes in his book “Did America Have a Christian Founding?” that “Jefferson was a brilliant man who made important contributions to the creation of the American republic, but this does not mean that he was responsible for everything that happened in the founding era. Jurists, scholars, and academics regularly turn to him to cast light on the First Amendment, often ignoring the reality that he played no role in crafting it,” (Hall, M.D., 62) Hall’s analysis neglects Thomas Jefferson’s contribution to the establishment of the first amendment; yet without a Declaration that defined exactly which human rights were recognized to be intrinsic, the concept of personal liberty would remain vague and ambiguous.
The Declaration of Independence did not address restraint on federal bureaucracies, nor the true perils of decentralization of government intervention through society using federal regulatory agencies and their subagency counterparts; these future concerns were irrelevant to the Declaration’s purpose, which sought to establish official independence from England, and define which rights were deemed inherent to man. Secondly, Jefferson’s Declaration did not address slavery, yet presented all men as created equal and free from tyranny. Slavery had existed in America since 1662 when the Virginia “legislature enacted a law requiring that all servants who were non-Christians should be held as slaves for life.” Third, Jefferson did not include direct Biblical references, as the Bible was known among all colonists; though the Declaration used the same inherent principles and objective moral truth based on God’s Divine Providence. Lastly, the Declaration did not address the potential that secular humanism and transhumanism would become the predominant American view through government-funded bureaucratic propaganda conditioning the very individual responsible for funding their endeavors. Jefferson did address his views on secularism, writing in his “Notes on the State of Virginia, in the mid-1780s,” that it, “does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg” (Dreisbach, D., 18). Although Jefferson’s message was politically controversial, it remains true today that Christians must allow others to build their own covenant with God; faith cannot be forced.
Jefferson’s statement held Biblical origin, and followed the teachings of Jesus Christ; God’s Holy Spirit asks in Romans 14:4-5, 10-11 (ESV) “Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind…Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written.” People cannot judge others, as all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23, John 8:7b)
Conclusion
The Declaration of Independence featured natural rights and natural law, apart from governance; this represented the first instance of a limited government, putting the people before the politician. Thomas Jefferson declared that human beings had something that government could not deny, and could not take away; the Declaration of Independence appointed the justification for secession from tyrannical rule, initiating a platform that to this day, represents the inherent God-given rights of the individual, no matter their class.
–July 17th, 2023
Bibliography
Dreisbach, Daniel. Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State (Critical America (New York University Paperback) NYU Press. Kindle Edition.
Hall, Mark David. (2019). Did America Have a Christian Founding? Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
McClellan, James. (1989, 1991, 2000). Liberty, Order, and Justice: An Introduction to the Constitutional Principles of American Government. Liberty Fund: Indianapolis, Indiana.