Question

Read the excerpt from the Preamble to 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. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

According to the Preamble, what is one job of the government?

a.to ensure happiness
b.to protect individual rights
c.to create unalienable rights
d.to rule without any interference

Answer 1

Jefferson uses words with positive connotations to praise his listeners for their political activism. One needs to know about the backdrop of the Declaration of Independence. The American army, still colonized, had just won a battle against the British army. The Continental Congress, thereby, decided to write a draft on their Declaration of independence. Thomas Jefferson made the draft and it was signed by various leaders. Hence, there was no neutrality about it. It was a straight opposition. Hence, even though Jefferson was rational and precedent, he was not neutral and he used words with positive connotations to praise his listeners for their political activism