Abstract This is a report on Don Nardo's book "The Declaration of Independence: A Model for Individual Rights". The book presents the Declaration in both a historical and philosophical light, pointing out in various revisions of the Declaration, what elements have survived into present-day American moral beliefs, and which have been abandoned or altered. The paper also discusses the taxation and military occupation that instigated the American Revolution.
Abstract This paper looks at the history of U.S. military engagement since the end of WWII, with particular emphasis on the Persian Gulf War of 1990. It points out that Congress has not formally declared war since December 11, 1941, against Germany and that, during the course of the last several decades in United States history, the citizens of the U.S. have been continually forced into war without a formal declaration of war supported by the U.S. Congress. The paper then discusses the War Powers Act, which has made it possible for Congress to avoid making actual declarations of war while still permitting major military engagements such as the Persian Gulf War.
From the Paper "Congress has not formally declared war since December 11, 1941 against Germany in response to a formal Declaration of War by Germany against the U.S. (Paul, 2002). When Congress does formally declare war, a task that requires small effort on the part of representatives, an enemy is clearly defined and the task at hand is readily made clear. A clear cut victory is also expected as was the case of the Declaration of war against Germany and Japan. During the course of the last several decades in United States history, the citizens of the U.S. have been continually forced into war without a formal declaration of war supported by the U.S. Congress. The most recent example prior to 2003 of this was the war started in the Persian Gulf. Such action taken by the president of the U.S. exemplifies the pomposity and overbearing authority the president has placed upon himself over the citizens of this country."
Abstract The paper looks at the Balfour declaration and examines the declaration that was produced by historical British solicitude for European Jewry. The paper explains how this and exigencies of World War I diplomacy contributed along with many other factors to Israeli independence in 1948. The paper details the circumstances that led to the adoption of the Balfour Declaration.
From the Paper "This research paper analyzes the circumstances which led to the adoption by the British government in November of the Balfour Declaration and discusses its principal consequences including the relationship between its adoption and implementation and the eventual establishment of the State of Israel."
Abstract In this paper, the writer examines the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen," written by the National Assembly in 1789. The writer discusses that the Declaration laid out a series of basic assumptions about the natural rights of man. Further, the writer contends that Baron de Montesquieu, writing 30 years earlier, would have agreed and disagreed with some of the basic premises of the Declaration.
From the Paper "The 'Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen' written by the deputies of the National Assembly in 1789 lays out in seventeen articles a new vision of government, in which protection of the natural rights replaced the will of the king as the justification for authority. Thirty-one years prior Baron de Montesquieu published his work 'The Spirit of the Laws' in which he attempts to explain human laws and social institutions. In many respects Montesquieu's thought foreshadowed later political projects most notably the drafting of ... "
Tags: natural rights, french revolution, 1789, Declaration of the rights of man and citizen, montesquieu
Abstract This paper delves into the reasons why the British Government created the Balfour Declaration. It examines the true motives and despite their wish to help the Jews set up a homeland, they also had their own domestic issues at heart -from the necessity of securing the Suez Canal to the desire to empty their country of the Jewish people to avoid a rise of anti-Semitism.
From the Paper "The Balfour Declaration was declared partly to elicit support from the powerful American Jewry who, in gratitude, might convince the United States to help Great Britain in the allied war effort. The Allies' (Great Britain, France, and Russia) outlook for World War I was bleak at the time: most battles they were fighting or had fought ended in stalemate with no victor. They needed a new ally that would tip the balance in their favor, allowing them to defeat the Central Powers (Germany, Austria, and the Ottoman Empire). In the current stage of the war, the U.S. was apathetic to joining either side, but they had substantial military potential and financial resources. If Britain issued a document that favored a Jewish home in Palestine, they thought that this inducement would be enough to encourage American Jewry to aid Great Britain in the war.1 The British believed the American Jews were extremely wealthy and among U.S. President Wilson's top advisors. Contrary to this notion, there were very few American Jews that were politically powerful, wealthy, or even Zionists that would appreciate this type of document. Britain's ignorance of the status of American Jewry thus played a main factor in the issuance of the Balfour Declaration.2 Here it is apparent that the British claim of Zionist sentiment really had no effect on their decision to issue the Declaration. They acted quickly and complied with British Zionists to design a quid pro quo that said " if the Allies committed themselves to giving facilities for the establishment of a national home for the Jews in Palestine, [the Zionists] would do their best to rally Jewish sentiment and support throughout the world to the Allied cause."3 Hence, the British used the Balfour Declaration merely as a tool to utilize what they thought was powerful Jewish influence in the United States. It is most probable that if the Allies were winning World War I at the time, the Balfour Declaration would not have been issued. There was not a strong Zionist commitment within the British Parliament and the Jews were used only as a part of Great Britain's bigger plan to bring the U.S. on the Allied side.4"
Abstract This paper discusses the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the occurrences that lead the Continental Congress to take action. It further discusses Thomas Jefferson's views in writing the document, and his belief that no man should be overpowered by a country that disregarded his freedom. The paper then discusses the changes in the original document, and the reasons that those changes were made.
From the Paper "At the time of the writing of the Declaration of Independence the 13 American colonies, (known as British-America) were holding conventions of the colony leaders. These colony leaders were known as the Committees of Correspondence ("Declaration"). Within these committees the leaders were attempting to make decisions on the future of the people that they represented. However, the colonies, and the people who inhabited them, where all still under the control of the British government and the crown. The British government imposed severe taxes on all merchandise from British-America, including tea. Furthermore, the British rulers upheld their laws in British- America by exporting offenders to England, where they were to be tried and convicted of crimes against the crown ("Declaration"). Therefore, the committees drafted letters that detailed their thoughts on issues of the day, and those letters were carried between the colonies to be disbursed."
Abstract The paper explores whether the principles in the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen" were for the better or for the worse of the French people and the French Revolution. The paper examines the progressive ideas of the Declaration as well as its essentially bourgeois nature that withheld freedom of assembly and liberty of association from the masses. The paper then assesses the role of the Declaration in the development of modern ideologies, including liberalism, nationalism and socialism, that all came about as a result of the French Revolution. The paper concludes that the historical, political and humanistic significance of the Declaration of Rights is of paramount importance in the law and political thought of the following centuries.
Outline:
Introduction
The Declaration as Embodiment of the Enlightenment Ideas
The Role of the Declaration in the Development of Modern Ideologies
Conclusion
From the Paper The Declaration contains no word about actual realization by people of their civil freedoms proclaimed in it, which is typical for all bourgeois constitutional documents. The Declaration withholds freedom of assembly and liberty of association due to the bourgeoisie's fear of excited revolutionary masses. Any professional associations were treated negatively, as they were considered to be vestiges of the guild system and to hinder individual liberty. These thoughts and attitudes were soon clearly expressed in the Le Chapelier law of June 14, 1791 that barred any craft guilds and trade unions.
"The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (hereafter "the Declaration") was issued on August 26, 1789 to declare the future principles of the first French constitution when it should be completed and to be embodied as its preamble. The distinction between a constitution - an established system of government - and a declaration of rights was carefully laid down. In order to prepare a good constitution, it was "necessary to recognize the rights which natural justice grants to every individual, to recall all those principles which must form the basis of every kind of society." The text of the Declaration was prepared by the members of the Constitutional Committee, and signed by the king, though under duress. The content of the Declaration was ideologically influenced by the American Bills of Rights , remonstrations of the parliament of the times of ancient regime crisis, and ideas of the National Assembly. Its text consists of a short preamble, which states that ignorance, disregard or contempt of natural, inalienable and sacred rights of man are the sole causes of public misfortunes and governmental corruption;
"French Revolution of 1789-1799 was thus a culmination of the Enlightenment philosophy. By the 1780's, the absolute French monarchy was in overall crisis due to political and financial collapse, complemented by establishment of the "third estate" as a new socially active power. The French Revolution comprised a series of events that transformed the political, social, and ideological atmosphere of modern Europe. These events were set in motion when the aristocracy, refusing to be taxed, made it necessary for King Louis XVI to revive the moribund Estates-General in the spring of 1789. Few suspected that this decision would unleash elemental and irresistible forces of discontent. Although they had different ends in view, aristocrats, bourgeois, sans-culottes (the urban poor), and peasants were united in their determination to alter the conditions of their existence. Accompanying this assertion of self-interest was a body of abstract ideas of Enlightenment that gave direction to revolutionary energies. When the National Assembly promulgated the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen in August 1789, "it intended to serve notice to the rest of Europe that it had discovered universally valid principles of government."
"Philosophers and enlighteners of the XVIII century undermined the foundations of their contemporary states where political power and enormous share of wealth belonged to nobility and clergy, while masses were impoverished. They proclaimed supremacy of reason instead of faith or tradition, and advocated faith in human nature, confidence that humans will be able to manifest their good qualities when they are given freedom and justice is restored. Ideas of equity of all humans, of duty of all citizens whether a king or a peasant to obey the law established by representatives of the people, free contracts between people exempt from feudal duty and serfdom - all these demands of philosophers united and penetrated into masses of the French people paved the way to the fall of ancient regime in their minds."
Abstract This paper will explain the basic ideas contained in the Declaration of Independence, the impact of the declaration upon the American War of Independence and the reasons for the appeal of the Declaration as a "radical document". These themes will be discussed and analyzed to better understand the premise of the Declaration of Independence and to see why and how it worked within the times it was written in.
Abstract This paper attempts to track the important developments in the law relating to dying declarations, concentrating specifically on sub-section 1 of 32 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. Section 32 (1) of Indian Evidence Act, 1872. It looks at how the logic behind allowing dying declarations is that the character of the statement and the subject to which it refers indicate that it is reasonable to expect the highest degree of truth possible in the circumstances and the incentive or desire to falsify the statement is practically non-existence.
Outline
Introduction
History of Dying Declarations Hearsay Evidence
Essentials of Dying Declaration Court Proceedings
Attendance of Witnesses
Who May Testify?
From the Paper "The greater portion of the law of evidence is concerned with the rules that gradually have grown up in the courts respecting persons who may testify, and the manner in which their testimony may be given. Keep in mind that the sole objective of the rules of evidence is to arrive at the truth. A witness testifies regarding his or her knowledge of the facts as a matter of public duty, and only with the imposition of conditions the law authorizes. An example of an unauthorized condition would be an agreement to pay a witness additional compensation exceeding that authorized by law for his or her testimony."
Abstract This paper explains the similarities and differences between the Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man, showing the emphasis in that document for liberty, equality and fraternity. It looks at the different purposes of the American and the French revolutions.
From the Paper "The French Revolution was basically to end political injustice from within while the American Revolution focused on obtaining freedom from the original mother country ..."
Tags:Declaration of Independence, Declaration of the Rights of Man, The Third Estate, loyalists, Washington, Jefferson, Robespierre
Abstract The paper introduces, discusses, and analyzes the topic of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. Specifically, the paper contains an analytical essay about the Declaration, fact or fiction, and discusses the historiographical debate attached to it. The paper examines how the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence predates the U.S. Declaration by over a year, if it is historically correct. The paper explores how most historians debunk the document as a hoax and a phony, but there are many who refuse to believe the document is not real. The paper discusses this debate that has lasted for over 200 years.
From the Paper "In addition, King George had declared the colonies would not enjoy the protection of Great Britain if they needed it, and so, many colonists were more than willing to declare their independence. The Continental Congress was already meeting in Philadelphia, but they would not draft their own declaration until July 4, 1776. During the Mecklenburg meeting, three men, Dr. Ephraim Brevard, Mr. Kennon, and the Reverend Balch formed a committee to draw up resolutions. Dr. Brevard had drawn up some preliminary resolutions at a previous meeting, and read these to the assembly. These resolutions, with revisions, would become the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, according to historian William Henry Foote. It is not difficult to believe these resilient people would find the constraints of British rule too confining. It is not difficult to believe they would declare their independence from Great Britain when British rule became intolerable."
Tags: North, Carolina, settlers, King, George, Battle, Lexington, Continental, Congress
Abstract This paper explains how the US Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution had different purposes and reasons for their respective creation. The paper discusses how the Declaration of Independence was more ideological and philosophical than the Constitution while the Constitution is detailed and lacks any kind of emotion or propagandistic qualities. The writer relates that he favors the Constitution's ideology over that of the Declaration of Independence, since the Declaration is fundamentally unsuitable for a government foundation while the Constitution is arguably one of the most successful, if not the most successful, political doctrine.
From the Paper "When analyzing the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, it is clear that there is a difference in ideology between the two. The two documents had different purposes and reasons for their respective creation. The Declaration of Independence is a protest against the tyranny of the British monarchy and a basis for revolution. The Constitution, however, does not allow for revolution and creates a liberal government for the purpose of stability. The Declaration was created in response to events that had oppressed the colonists and inspired them to overthrow their aggressors (Jayne)."
Abstract The following paper critically analyzes the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights with reference to two events, that of racial apartheid that was the official policy of South Africa and the systematic raping of Bosnian women during the conflict in that region.
From the paper:
"According to the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ?Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty. (UN Website)"
Abstract This paper explores the impact the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and how it influences and endangers the Palestinian-Israel conflict. The author takes the reader on an exploratory look at the declaration as well as current problems that declaration is creating.
From the Paper "The history behind the Israel ? Palestinian conflict is long and complicated however there are several things that become more obvious as time goes on. One of the problems in the conflict that cannot be denied is the impact that the Balfour Declaration has on the situation today. In Daniel R. Brower?s, The World in the Twentieth Century From Empires to Nations Fifth Edition the detailed examination of the conflict makes the reader understand how the Balfour Declaration virtually ties the hands of the Palestinian participants with no obvious compromise or solution."
Abstract "The Declaration of Independence" by 13 British North American colonies in 1776 and the ?Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizens? passed by the National Assembly of France in 1789 are two of the most important documents ever written in the history of Western Civilization. This paper shows how both the documents were greatly influenced by the Age of Enlightenment and the thoughts of philosophers such as the 17th century Englishman John Locke and the leading French philosopher of the time, Jean Jacques Rousseau. This essay is a comparison of the two documents.
From the Paper "Although The Declaration of Independence (1776) was basically a proclamation of freedom by American colonists from British rule, it was also a statement of principle about the natural and inalienable rights of men and contained a list of grievances against the British monarch of the time, King George III. The Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizens adopted 13 years later in France, on the other hand, was not a proclamation of independence from foreign rule and did not contain grievances against any ruler?it was, however, similar to the American Declaration of Independence in many ways. The similarity of the two documents is not surprising. Although the main author of the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizens was Abbe Emmanuel Sieyes, French priest and revolutionary, it is widely believed that its first draft was written one month earlier by the Marquis de Lafayette with help from Thomas Jefferson, who was a personal friend of Lafayette and a US minister to France at the time. Thomas Jefferson is, of course, the main author of the Declaration of Independence."
