Comparison Paper 1
Comparison of the Declaration of Independence, The United States Constitution, and Thomas
Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptism
Aryl Diaz L29594486
Liberty University
GOVT200-D10- Constitutional Government & Free Enterprise
Clark Strawser
November 2, 2023
Comparison of the Declaration of Independence, The United States Constitution, and Thomas
Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptism
Abstract
In this paper I will be discussing and comparing the three important historical documents, The
U.S Constitution, The United States Declaration of Independence, and Jefferson’s Letter to
Danbury Baptists and their impact on how the United States came to be, the impact the
documents had in U.S. history and how the documents were made. Even though all were written
in a different length, with different content within them, and some with only one writer, the
others with multiple contributors. All three of these documents shared a main goal regarding the
hope to successfully form a democratic government with a set of rules or expectations the
contributors thought would help form a solid foundation for the country’s legislation. All the
documents were signed in a different time all written with different aims, interests, and intentions
of writing the documents, but the documents helped the United States Government and us as
Americans get to where we are at currently in the United States.
Comparison of the Declaration of Independence, The United States Constitution, and Thomas
Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptism
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was the document out of the three that came first,
written in June of 1776, drafted up by Thomas Jefferson then later approved, edited, and adopted
by the Continental Congress on July 4th, 1776, the written document was meant for pursing
political independence of the Thirteen original American colonies from Great Britain’s Rule.
With the written document known as The Declaration of Independence declaring the original
thirteen American colonies as an independent nation. which is now in the United States when we
as Americans celebrate each year Independence Day or 4th of July with fireworks. The opening
statement of the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the
Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its
foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most
likely to affect their Safety and Happiness”, (Declaration of Independence: A Transcription,
2023), this statement is written to demonstrate what the founding fathers belief was regarding
the belief that every human being was given rights, from the Creator, to pursue life, liberty and
happiness and nobody should be capable of taking that away. Clarifying that the founding
fathers held the belief of a higher power, presumably GOD, since puritan belief was a prevalence
during the founding of this country. The Declaration of Independence goes into a hefty list of
grievances against the King of England, stating that on multiple occasions they were petitioned
Comparison of the Declaration of Independence, The United States Constitution, and Thomas
Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptism
against the king of England but found themselves becoming more oppressed by the tyrant king.
So, after this list of grievances the founding fathers declared their independence from the crown
and any connections to the monarch or Britain in any shape or form, stating a through outline of
what the United States as a free country was capable and willing to do independently.
The U.S. Constitution
The United States Constitution, written after the Declaration of Independence, and signed on
September 17th, 1787, at the Pennsylvania State House now known as Independence Hall located
in Philadelphia. The U.S. Constitution is beginning with, “We the People of the United States, in
Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for
the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of
America”, (The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription, 2023). While comparing the
U.S. Constitution and the United States Declaration of Independence, the documents were
written eleven years apart, only six men were involved on the writing of both the U.S.
Constitution and The Declaration of Independence said men being, George Clymer, Benjamin
Franklin, Robert Morris, and James Wilson in Pennsylvania and George Read from Delaware,
Thomas Jefferson wasn’t involved with the writing of the United States Constitution since he
wasn’t in the United States at the time of the writing at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
The U.S. Constitution consists of seven articles, a total of twenty-seven amendments with the
first ten amendments being the Bill of Rights. The main purpose of writing the U.S. Constitution
was to gain establishment of Americas fundamental laws and the national government focusing
on ensuring the basic rights of the United States of America citizens. The U.S. Constitution
outlines the branches of government and an explanation of them as well. The legislative branch
Comparison of the Declaration of Independence, The United States Constitution, and Thomas
Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptism
described in, (U.S. Constitution Full Text, n.d.), “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be
vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of
Representatives.” The House of Representatives stated in, (U.S. Constitution Full Text, n.d.),
“shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States,
and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most
numerous Branch of the State Legislature, The House of Representatives shall choose their
Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.” The Senate which
has two senators from each state and are senators for six years each have one vote and are
granted the power to try all impeachments, the senate has the vice president of the United States
which is the president of the senate but holds no vote unless it is equally divided. It states in,
(U.S. Constitution Full Text, n.d.), that Congress has the Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties,
Imposts and Excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare
of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United
States; while they can declare war, calling forth the militia to execute any laws of the union and
provide and maintain the navy while holding responsibility to organize, arm, and disciplining the
militia, To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the
foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the
United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.” Article two creates the Executive branch
of the government which has the president of the United States of America who holds a term of
four years with a vice president chosen for the same term to be elected by the people, senate, and
states, includes the federal agencies, such as the Department of Defense, and the Office of the
President and the branch is in charge of enforcing the Constitution and the laws that congress
enacts into existence. Article three is where the creation of the Judicial Branch comes into play,
Comparison of the Declaration of Independence, The United States Constitution, and Thomas
Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptism
the one known as the supreme court, and the other courts known as inferior courts. The courts are
in charge of interpreting and applying the law. The only one who holds the power to amend the
Constitution is the congress which requires two thirds of both houses to ensure the changes are
necessary to get the amendments of the constitution approved and effective. While the
ratification of the conventions of nine states is sufficient for the establishment of the constitution
between the states so to ratify is the same, I counted a total of forty names on the U.S.
Constitution. The reason the U.S. Constitution was written according to, (Savey, 2023), was to
protect citizens and also the states. It ensures rights, prevents the federal government from
infringing on these rights, and creates laws. The fundamental rights and civil liberties for
individuals are set out in the constitution, also the “The Law of the Land,” where the United
States Constitution prevents the government from infringing on the basic rights and civil
liberties granted by federal law, (Savey, 2023).
Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to The Danbury Baptism
As the writer of the Declaration of Independence and the Letter to the Danbury Baptism.
Thomas Jefferson wrote the letter to the Danbury Baptism in 1802, stating that the First
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was created as a “wall of separation between church and
state.” The first amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits the federal government from
enacting and laws respecting an establishment of religion or laws that are prohibiting the free
exercise of religion. The Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptism was written in order
to address the concerns about religious oppression and freedom in Connecticut. Thomas
Jefferson discusses the church’s role in government stated that the church’s role was limited.
Comparison of the Declaration of Independence, The United States Constitution, and Thomas
Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptism
Conclusion
In conclusion, there is no phase discussing the separation of church and state in the U.S.
Constitution and the founding fathers didn’t see any wrongs in having religion in the American
culture. I think the signers of the Declaration of Independence were discussing the aspects of
religion by referencing God, faith, and speaking of higher power but in the U.S. Constitution
they didn’t mention a thought about the separation of church and state or about the separation of
God from government only reference related to religion is the date pf signing which they wrote
as, “the Seventeenth day of September in the Year of Our Lord.” Both documents the U.S,
Constitution and the Declaration of Independence have statements regarding the freedom of
religion. The most religion-based document out of the three was Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the
Danbury Baptists. The signatures on the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution
are arranged in a similar manner, with the President (John Hancock/George Washington) at the
top, and the rest of the signatures in state order from north to south, from right to left, John
Dunlap printed the first copies of both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S.
Constitution, also Benjamin Franklin was the oldest signer of the Declaration at the age of
seventy then signed the U.S. Constitution at age eighty-one eleven years after the signing of the
Declaration of Independence ,Both the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were
fairly enthralled on parchment. The Declaration of Independence is different form the U.S.
Constitution due to it being just a declaration which is primarily a letter to the king telling him
and all of Britain that the United States would no longer be apart of their country but become
their own country, their own rule, and having their own ways of life. Making it clear with no
room for an argument that the citizens of the states would be willing to go to war over this and
are going to do whatever they desire now. The Declaration of Independence has more signatures
Comparison of the Declaration of Independence, The United States Constitution, and Thomas
Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptism
than the United States Constitution the declaration of Independence holds a total of 56 signatures
while the U.S. Constitution only has a total of 39 signatures on it. The themes apparent in both
documents, (September Highlight: The Declaration and the Constitution, 2017), Roger Sherman,
George Clymer, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, James Wilson, and George Read signed both
the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Constitution in 1787. Pennsylvania had the
largest representation in both documents: nine delegates signed the Declaration, 8 signed the
Constitution, and 4 signed both.
References
Declaration of Independence: a transcription. (2023, October 11). National Archives.
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
GetLegal. (2021, December 30). Comparing the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution |
GetLegal. GetLegal. https://www.getlegal.com/comparing-the-declaration-of-independence-and-
the-u-s-constitution/
Comparison of the Declaration of Independence, The United States Constitution, and Thomas
Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptism
Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists (June 1998) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin. (n.d.).
https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpre.html
The Constitution of the United States: A transcription. (2023, August 14). National Archives.
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript
Savey, E. (2023, April 16). Why was the Constitution written? Constitution of the United States.
https://constitutionus.com/constitution/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-u-s-constitution/
September Highlight: The Declaration and the Constitution. (2017, September 4). Declaration
Resources Project. https://declaration.fas.harvard.edu/blog/september-
constitution#:~:text=September%20Highlight%3A%20The%20Declaration%20and%20the
%20Constitution%201,with%20the%20Declaration%20of%20Independence.%20. . .%20More
%20items
U.S. Constitution Full text. (n.d.). https://www.usconstitution.cc/
Comparison of the Declaration of Independence, The United States Constitution, and Thomas
Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptism
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Comparison of the Declaration of Independence, The United States Constitution, and Thomas
Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptism
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Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptism
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