Comparison Paper
Michael Gordon
GOVT 200- C01
The United State Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, and Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists are altogether different in their expectations. The Declaration of Independence was the first of the three documents. It was just a proclamation to the World, mainly Britain, that these colonies were coming together as one and forming a new government completely separated from Britain. The Constitution laid out the structure of the new government once we had won the Revolution. It is the law of the land. The Declaration told the world “Hey we are free, and we are doing this on our own” while the Constitution laid the groundwork for the new nation method of operation. Thomas Jefferson’s letter coined the famous phrase “Separation between Church and State” which he used to shed light on the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Let’s start with the one that came first, The Declaration of Independence. The Declaration was adopted by The Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. It was authored by Thomas Jefferson with the help of others. The main theme of declaration of independence document was to demonstrate that all people are equal, and no government should have the power to oppress its. The Declaration told Britain that it had stomped on the unalienable rights that all men are endowed with by our Creator, and so it was time to break ties and form a new government.
The U.S. Constitution brought together, in one of the greatest documents in history, ideas from many people and several existing documents, including the Declaration of Independence. The main theme of the constitution was to establish the American’s fundamental laws and federal government. It also focused on securing the basic rights of American citizens from the government. The constitution’s basic freedoms included such as freedom of religion and speech.
Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists was in response to concerns of the Danbury Baptist Association about freedom of religion. Jefferson saw the importance between the separation of Church and State. Especially when he says, “Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God” (Jefferson, 1802). I believed what Jefferson intent in the letter was not t...