Jefferson Davis on pursuit for happiness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Jefferson Davis on pursuit for happiness - Essay Example Thomas Jefferson described life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as â€Å"inherent† and â€Å"inalienable†, or in other words, natural and undeniable rights (Jefferson and Peterson, 7). Jefferson wanted the Thirteen Colonies to form a government that protected the right of life. At the time this meant protecting citizens of the Colonies from war and Native Americans, but has come to mean much more. Americans have the right to procreate or not. Individuals are not limited to how many children they have like in China. Life is not terminated for lack of funding, like in Nazi Germany. The United States protects American lives worldwide from Jefferson’s time up until today. The second natural or undeniable right was liberty. Liberty is sometimes confused with freedom. True freedom is anarchy, because everyone does what they want. Liberty is the freedom to have the same opportunities as everyone else, obey natural laws. An example would be the freedom to worship God, Allah, or Jehovah anyway a person feels the need to. Jefferson spoke â€Å"of liberty to worship our Creator in the way we think is most agreeable to his will† (Jefferson and Peterson, 19). Liberty means equality for everyone. At the time Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he owned slaves. This contradicted his position on equal opportunity for everyone. When he spoke of liberty, Jefferson meant white men. Jefferson knew that the democracy he was fighting for was far from perfect, but could become better by always changing. Jefferson stated, â€Å"’The price of freedom,’ as Thomas Jefferson observed, ‘is eternal vigilance’† (Washburne). Through eternal vigilance, the United States has more liberty today than in Jefferson’s day. Natural laws are laws that come natural to humans. Most individuals think thievery, murder, rape, and torture is wrong. On the other hand, most individuals believe taking care of children, labor,