As a citizen of America, the citizen has rights that are strictly endowed to them. These rights are born unto the person and cannot be taken away by anyone under any circumstance. These rights are their inalienable rights. Inalienable is defined as “that cannot be transferred to another or others” (“Inalienable”). Written in the Declaration of Independence these rights are said to include the right to the pursuit of happiness, life and liberty (NARA 2014). Inalienable rights are endowed to all men. As life in America progressed and civil rights movements stretched across the nation it was soon realized that some men and women were not believed to be included in those who had these inalienable rights.
People of color were treated as less than compared to their white counterparts. Segregation strongly prevalent in America proved that although the Declaration of Independence stated “All men are created equal” people of color were not included in that statement. Blacks could not live the lives they had wanted to live. They did not have the right to life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness. Oppression was common throughout their lives. Life during segregation was not true to the right to the pursuit of happiness for black people. Black and white children could not attend the same schools. A black individual could not use the same restroom or drinking fountain as a white individual. Going out on the town a black individual could not attend the same social gathering places as a white person. Jim Crow laws enforcing racial segregation existed throughout the United States from 1877 to 1950 (Urofsky). A black man could not go to the court for help either. During the Civil Rights movement, Plessy took on the judicial system and the court ruled that segregation was indeed constitutional (“Separate but Equal”). As black Americans began to fight back on segregation one individual became one of the most well-known faces in the fight, Martin Luther King Jr.
One of Martin Luther King Jr.’s most popular moments in history is his speech “I have a dream”. Martin Luther King Jr. gave this speech during the peaceful protest “March on Washington”. In this speech, Jr. addresses the realities of being a black man in the era of white man’s superiority. Martin addresses that he hopes one day black boys and girls can intermingle with white boys and girls. In 1963, people of color were not allowed to associate with those who were white. Jr. states in his speech that yes, the Declaration of Independence also applies to black men as well as white men. Black men have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness just as much as a white man does. The people of America were not living up to the words of “All men are created equal” stated in the Declaration of Independence. All men are created equal if they are white in the era of segregation. The government was not being just in their treating blacks the way they did by defending segregation. Martin Luther King addressed this by providing various points on how a black man isn’t truly free in his speech. By comparing their treatment to a bad check that the government wrote to the people of color within the nation they lived (King Jr 1963) When the Declaration of Independence was written it was not written to include black men and women.
The Declaration of Independence was written in 1776. Breaking away from Great Britain and declaring independence from the government of Great Britain was one of the reasons the Declaration of Independence was written. The 13 colonies began to fight back against Great Britain as Britain began trying to impose taxes on the colonies. The First Continental Congress came together to speak of their unwillingness to comply with the taxation imposed upon them, but they did not want full independence from Great Britain. This was the beginning of the draft of the Declaration of Independence. They spoke of the rights that were natural rights among men. These rights included but were not limited to life, liberty, trial by jury (“Revolutionary War”). With the Revolutionary War in full effect many began to agree that they indeed wanted independence from the nation that was attacking them. On July 4th, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was adopted. The document stated clearly what those who drafted it had thought was just in relation to their government power.
The Declaration of Independence also provided a list of unjust actions that Great Britain had done to the 13 colonies. The actions of the King of Great Britain led the colonies to declare independence from himself and his rule. The oppression that the colonies had experienced under the king’s rule was similar in nature to the oppression that people of color had experienced throughout the time of segregation. At the time that the Declaration of Independence drafting and adoption, those who created the document had owned slaves. To the extent that the men who drafted the document thought about people of color, people of color were seen as property. A black man could not own property, vote or have a life outside of attending to their owners. In the Declaration of Independence, it is written “All men are created equal” and they are given unalienable rights that no one can take away (NARA 2014). Though white men did not view black men as equal in 1776. Black men were viewed as second-class citizens and their only purpose was to serve those who were white. Even through the rest of the 1700s and well into the 1900s black men and women were not viewed as equal. In the essay Civil Disobedience written by Lewis H Van. Dusen Jr. he speaks of protest against a leader who has overstepped their rule. The protest is seen as a disobedience against a law that can be considered a breach to legal duty (Van Dusen Jr.)
Civil disobedience is defined as “a public, nonviolent, conscientious yet political act contrary to law usually done with the aim of bringing about a change in the law or policies of the government” (“Civil Disobedience”). This nonviolent and public action can be seen both in the time of the drafting and adopting of the Declaration of Independence and the protest of Martin Luther King Jr’s March on Washington. Though the Declaration of Independence was occurring during the Revolutionary War, the protest against the King of Great Britain was nonviolent. The document drafted and signed by 56 men to declare independence from the government causing them harm was nonviolent. Nonviolence can also be seen in the actions of Martin Luther King Jr’s protest and throughout his speech “I have a dream.” Both had the end goal of changing a law that they believed to be unjust against their people. To put an end to segregation and earn the unalienable rights black men and women deserved was the goal of Martin Luther King Jr. The goal of the Declaration of Independence was to end the rule of an unjust King.
In the end, Martin Luther King Jr. paved a path to the end of segregation along with many others who fought the same fight. The Declaration of Independence now includes the unalienable rights for people of color alongside their white counterparts. Though Jr. should not be viewed as a civil disobedient he can be considered one under the definition of civil disobedience. To fight for a just cause under an unjust government is one of the reasons the Declaration of Independence was written. The unalienable rights we have today are because of those who came before the generations that are alive today. To have these rights should not be taken for granted. Many countries today are fighting the fight the founding fathers of America fought for.