Imagine a time where your government taxed you without representation, searched your property without a warrant, forced you to house soldiers, and just didn’t protect your basic human rights. This was the reality for the first colonists until, one day, they decided they’ve had enough. Drafted by the “Committee of Five” on June 11, 1776 and finalized on July 4, the Declaration of Independence served as the scissors that severed the political connection between England and the colonies. The declaration was a farewell message to the king. It proclaimed that all men are created equal, all men have basic human rights, and the only reason to have a government is to protect life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But did post-revolution America live up to these ideals? The answer probably isn’t what you’d expect.
In fact, post-revolution America didn’t live up to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence because equality for everyone wasn’t achieved and a true democracy wasn’t achievable.
