Undemocratic Features Of The Declaration Of Independence

The United States of America had a long road to travel in becoming a democracy. The Americans have suffered in the past to achieve their goal of becoming a fully democratic and independent nation. Before the United States became independent, it was controlled by Britain and everyone was required to be loyal to the king of Britain. There were some rights that the inhabitants of colonial America had, such as freedom of religion. However, not everyone was pleased with the idea of having a king ruling over the colonists from overseas. Although colonial America acquired democratic features, the undemocratic features created numerous problems for the colonists, thus causing them to declare independence from Britain. Even though, the colonists had …show more content…
These features are listed in the Declaration of Independence, describing how the king transgressed the rights of the colonists. According to the Declaration of Independence, the colonists wanted to break away from the mother country for “cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world” (Declaration of Independence, Jefferson). The colonists were only allowed to trade with Britain, even if the costs were too expensive. Another reason why the colonists wanted independence was that the king “plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people” (Declaration of Independence, Jefferson). This means that the king damaged the property of America and ruined the lives of the people in the country. Because of these abominable actions, the colonists decided to rebel against Britain and declare independence from the …show more content…
John Locke’s idea of natural rights, which are “life, liberty, and property” for all citizens were mentioned in the Declaration of Independence (Locke, “The Second Treatise of Government”). The concept of separation of powers is credited to Charles de Montesquieu, who thought that governmental power should be split into three branches, legislative, executive, and judicial (Montesquieu, “The Spirit of Laws”). These men, along with others, helped shape the American government, and without them, the government could be corrupt