Declaration of Independence Essay

Change made by the Declaration of Independence would come in two waves, through, political freedom, and economic opportunity. Political freedom shaped the ideas and ambitions of the revolutionaries, while economic opportunity merely played as bonuses in the Revolution. First, political freedom for the colonies meant breaking away from England and being able to develop a sense of identity and a sense of self-government. This was established in the first steps towards independence, by the writing of the Declaration of Independence, by Thomas Jefferson. After Congress revised Jefferson’s first drafts of the Declaration of Independence, it was finally approved on July 4, 1776, and now commonly known as Independence Day. The Declaration of Independence was not a promise to the colonists, nor was it an excuse for the fight against England to occur. The Declaration of Independence was a challenge and a risk with the colonists and the rest of the world. The challenge was to test the morality of the colonists, and to push them to their limit in their fight for independence. Second, Once political freedom created fair taxes for the people, Americans needed not to avoid taxes, which led to more economic and trade opportunities, and the economy was able to blossom with little complaints, unlike the previous results of The Stamp Act and The Sugar Act, which preceded political freedoms. Social status was almost completely unchanged, apart from the ability for people to become important government figures, which could change their status in society, but only in aspect and relation to politics, therefore once again making political freedom more of a goal in the long run. Once the colonies were free from the grasp of the English government, they were able to explore their economic opportunities more freely. Before the success of the Revolution, importing goods came with a heavy price, that colonists were not allowed a say in. It is questionable if taxes are a factor of economic opportunity or political freedom, however the establishment of taxes are put down by government, and whether or not one has a say in the taxes they will pay, depends on one’s amount of political freedom. Finally, For the Declaration of Independence to give any freedom at all, it had to first allow for more political freedom. This enabled the possibilities of a stable economic base in which people and government could stand on. In turn these two freedoms would end up making way for more social and societal freedoms within the new country and constitution.