Essay Example about the Declaration of Independence in the United States

The Second Continental Congress meeting held on 4th July 1776 in Philadelphia adopted a statement known as the United States Declaration of Independence. The adoption led to the severing of political connections between Britain and thirteen American colonies. The former colonies then came together to form the United States.

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In the Declaration of Independence, the colonist had imperial rights over the natives. According to the old arrangement, all power belonged to the government, but with the Declaration of Independence, power was transferred to the people. This meant that if a government failed to deliver, the people had the power to remove it. Additionally, in the historical context, statements such as 'all men are created equal' meant that there was no person who should be above the other since all have natural rights. No man was to be treated as a god or master, and the other a beast or slave. Interestingly, although the historical context of the statement was all about slavery, the meaning has come to change exponentially with time. Today, the equality statement is used in the contexts of gender and racism. While men and women are expected to be treated equally, the same case applies to people of all races.

Politics seems to have played a key role in America's victory against the British rule. Its role was clearly stronger than that of military strategy. This is because even for the military to strategies effectively, there was need for political goodwill. Most importantly, the American politicians were trying to free their country from the British rule. Political leaders, for example, had to convince everyone to join the revolution. Nevertheless, politics and military strategy had to coincide since powerful politicians had to hire more troops and encourage them to remain focused. While the British expanded their army by hiring German soldiers (Hessians), the American rebellion was spruced up by the French militia, and later, part of Europe joined in overpowering the British. All these and other strategies, which made the revolution succeed, heavily relied on politics.

If the American alliance with France had been based on John Adams' Model Treaty, the results of the revolution would have been different. This was because the principles of the Treaty dictated that there was to be no political or military connection between the two entities. The connection was to be mainly commercial. this would, therefore mean that the ties with France would be limited to trade, thus, less military assistance and little focus on America's independence. Consequently, the revolution may not have succeeded because it was not until the French militia joined the war that more parts of Europe saw the need to join hands against the British.

The loyalists did not deserve persecution and being driven out of America. This is because, just like other Americans, these loyalists were subjected to the British rule as they lived and worked in the colonies. It is important to recognize the fact that the American Revolution was both a war against the British as well as a civil war between the Americans. With this understanding, it becomes clear that some loyalists were at a loss as to whether to fight for independence or remain loyal to the British. Therefore, lack of unity on the American front was to blame, not the loyalists for the delayed success hence no need to persecute them.