The Declaration Of Independence

Political, Social and financial significance of

the Declaration of Independence

Often a single document defines and commemorates an event or a moment in time that is of importance. The Declaration of Independence is the principal document that defines and commemorates the birth of the United States and the independence of our nation. The Declaration of Independence defines the right of the people to defy the established order, to change their government, and to throw off an oppressor. [1] The Declaration of Independence expresses America's foundation and independence and the basic freedoms that this nation strives to embody, such as "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness". The important thing about the Declaration of Independence is not the document itself. It is the feeling and beliefs of a group of people that were speaking for a whole nation. The Declaration of Independence was written in 1776, but its message is timeless and still relevant today. The purpose of the Declaration of Independence was to declare and explain why the thirteen colonies were breaking away from Great Britain's control. The Declaration of Independence had a massive significance in political, social and financial issue.

The American Revolution was not a revolution in the sense of radical or total change. It did not suddenly and violently overturn the entire political and social framework, as later occurred in the French and Russian Revolutions. What happened was accelerated evolution rather than outright revolution. During the conflict itself, people went on working and praying, marrying and playing. Many of them were not seriously distributed by the actual fighting, and the most isolated communities scarcely knew that a war was on. Yet some striking changes were ushered in, affecting social customs, political institutions, and ideas about society, government, and even gender roles. The exodus of some eighty thousand substantial Loyalists robbed the new ship of state of conservative ballast. This weakening of the aristocratic upper crust, with all its culture and elegance, paved the way for new, Patriot elites to emerge. It also cleared the field for more egalitarian ideas to sweep across the land. "All men are created equal," the Declaration of Independence proclaimed, and equality was everywhere the watchword. Most states reduced property-holding requirements for voting. Ordinary men and women demanded to be addressed as "Mr." and "Mrs." Titles once reserved for the wealthy and highborn. Most Americans ridiculed the lordly pretensions of Continental Army officers who formed an exclusive hereditary order, the society of the Cincinnati. Social democracy was further by the growth of trade organizations for artisans and laborers. Citizens in several states, flushed with republican fervor, also sawed off the remaining shackles of medieval inheritance laws.

Economic changes begotten by the war were likewise noteworthy, but not overwhelming. States seized control of former crown lands, and although rich speculators had their day, many of the large Loyalist holdings were confiscated and eventually cut up into small farms. Economically speaking, independence had drawbacks. Much of the coveted commerce of Britain was still reserved for the loyal parts of the empire. American ships were now barred from British and British West Indies harbors. Fisheries were disrupted, and bounties for ships' stores had abruptly ended. In some respects the hated British Navigation Laws were more disagreeable after independence than before. New commercial outlets, fortunately, compensated partially for the loss of old ones. Americans could now trade freely with foreign nations, subject to local restrictions, a boon they had not enjoyed in the days of mercantilism. Yet the general economic picture was far from rosy. War had spawned demoralizing extravagance, speculation and profiteering, with profits for some as indecently high as 300 percent. Runaway inflation had been ruinous to many citizens, and Congress had failed in its feeble attempts to curb economic laws. The average citizen was probably worse off financially at the end of the shooting than the start. The whole economic and social atmosphere was unhealthy. A newly rich class of profiteers was noisily conspicuous, whereas many once-wealthy people were left destitute. The controversy leading to the Revolutionary war had bred a keen distaste for taxes and encouraged disrespect for the majesty of the law generally. John