The Declaration of Independence and the Promise of Liberty and Equality for All
In the aftermath of the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763), the British government enacted a series of new laws, including new taxes, to be applied to its colonies in North America. Because the colonists had no direct representation in the British government, many protested the legality of these laws. They then began a serious public conversation about the nature and origin of their rights. Many believed that rights are grounded in nature—that is, in human nature, or natural law—and are therefore applicable to all humankind and higher than any laws made by human authority. The idea that rights derive from human nature has deep roots in western political thinking and was embraced by many thinkers of the Enlightenment, particularly the English political philosopher John Locke. This view of natural rights was invoked by the North American colonists as they explained and justified their revolution against British rule in the Declaration of Independence. In this way, the Declaration of Independence did much more than formally announce the colonists’ separation from Great Britain: it was also a tightly compressed philosophical argument that clearly articulated equality as the fundamental moral fact of human nature. According to the Declaration, this inherent equality, along with natural rights, formed the basis and limits of a just government. The principles of equality, liberty, and justice served as the foundation of the new nation and are therefore referred to as Founding principles.