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Declaration Of Independence Dbq Essay

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With America being a new country, the founding fathers created the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in order to establish the goals for the young country. During the time period of the eighteenth and nineteenth century, there are many occurrences such as slavery that took place, which represented America following the sacred documents. Slavery was when white males bought black men and women, then made these human beings undergo terrible treatment and work all day and night. However, these slaves were not considered to be citizens during the time period. Also, major events such as the Whiskey Rebellion supported the roles of these important documents. The Whiskey Rebellion was when westerners rebelled due to the tax on whiskey, …show more content…

At the time of when America was brand new, the people were living in the state of which any race that was not white was immediately disregarded as human beings. The Preamble of the Constitution states: “... blessing the liberty to ourselves…” (Document A). When the founding fathers mention giving freedom to ourselves, the men truly mean that freedom will be blessed amongst the white population of America, who were the only citizens of the country who had rights. As history continued, the Constitution mimic those words that were written for the country. This development can be represented through the time period of slavery. In Document D, the photograph shows a slave who was whipped repeatedly, and was left with countless scars and injuries. While slavery was a cruel time in history, the Constitution never defined the statement of protecting the black people who were not originally referenced to be a part of the country. Instead, as mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, all men are created equal. However, due to the time period, the statement is actually defining that all white men are created equal. Furthermore, slavery was never considered as something against the law; instead, slavery was viewed as a way to benefit white men who wanted to own massive plantations. The Constitution is …show more content…

During the nineteenth century, Manifest Destiny became a popular belief in the United States. America was always looking for a way to expand and benefit the country, and with Manifest Destiny, the people truly believed that God telling the citizens to move west was the most significant way to grow as a country. In Document E, the picture shows an angel figure flying in the direction of the west, which represents the concept of Manifest Destiny. In fact, John O’Sullivan had an important message that corresponds with a similar idea to Manifest Destiny. In a message from John O’Sullivan, the beginning statement was, “Our national birth (and the Declaration of Independence) was the beginning of a new history, which separates us from the past and connects us only with the future” (Document F). When John O’Sullivan talks about a new beginning, there is also the implication of a bright future for the nation. Through events like Manifest Destiny, the nation was able to grow, which allowed for the factor of reserving a bigger future for the country. In addition to a larger country, the founding fathers also wanted a better future for the citizens. In the Constitution, the document states that the people will “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” (Document A). Then,

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