Jefferson's The Declaration of Independence - Essay Example

? Topic: Lecturer: Presentation: Introduction The United s of America comprises of the thirteen s which were under the Great Britain colonial rule among other annexure from the West thereafter. For these thirteen colonies, it was a great struggle to obtain independence from the tyrannical rule of King George III. Through the American revolutionary war, the US gained the sovereignty it had long desired. The war was fought between 1775 and 1783 but the declaration of independence was done on July 4, 1776 (Jefferson, 7). This allowed the colonies to act independently of Great Britain after a long period of suffering. It was then followed by a period of war, civil disorder, and death in order to achieve the ends America sought to achieve. The question that needs to be answered is whether these means were justified by the end of achieving independence. This will be answered by discussing Jefferson’s declaration of independence and evaluating it against Machiavelli’s relationship between ends and means. Machiavelli’s means-end relationship is unique in nature as it makes us to move away from normal explanations of what is right or wrong; moral or immoral. According to him there is no escape from the weight of means and ends (Ramsay, 33). We often hear people while faced with certain difficult situations saying that the end does not justify the means but rarely have we ever thought of what that means. In reality, this means for example that one cannot result to stealing as a way of satisfying his/her needs as this would be considered immoral and punishable by law. Whatever the end is, one is not supposed to result to immoral behavior to achieve that end. However, this is not the case for Machiavelli. For him, people should consider what ends they want to achieve; it is bad or good and then decide the means to use to achieve the end. Some practical necessity according to Machiavelli dictates that “certain means will be required to achieve the end” (Ramsay, 34). In this case, even the use of immoral means to achieve a good end is justified. He also asserts that political ends such as ensuring state stability, maintaining order, holding down power and prosperity are never justified but given regardless of whether such ends are rational or good. These ends are also assumed to be universal as every human being needs them; for example, all of us need order and security so that we can live a happy and peaceful life (Ramsay, 34). Since the ends are universal and given, it is not for us to concern ourselves about whether the means to achieve them is moral or immoral rather, concern should be on the ruler himself. According to Machiavelli, a ruler should possess certain qualities to able to achieve those ends and these qualities are psychological and social as opposed to moral qualities (Ramsay, 34). A king therefore, does not have to be moral since the situation dictates that he uses whatever means to ensure the end is achieved. Furthermore, some moral means may end up harming the same people one is protecting while some immoral means may be of benefit to the people. For example, cruelty is immoral or a vice but can be used by a king to achieve unity and loyalty from subjects while being merciful may let an evil continue leading to harmful consequences. The same case applies to a parent disciplining a child, if one is overly merciful with the child then the likelihood of not correcting that child’s behavior is high but disciplining the child moulds his/her behavior provided it is not excessive. Machiavelli indicates that harming one person through cruelty is better than harming a group through murder or plunder which could have been prevented if the King acted sooner rather than exercising mercy. Cruelty here is thus considered a lesser evil which is necessary (35). This is not to say all ends are achieved through immoral means, other situations call for moral means and as such the King should not use it as an excuse to be virtuous. In Machiavelli’s words a king should “hold to what is right when he can and know how to do wrong when he must” (40). Consider the American revolutionary war after the declaration of independence. Was it justified or not as per Jefferson and considering Machiavelli’s idea of means and ends. The Declaration of independence in 1776 serves to show the tribulations the colonies were going through and the need for independence. In the introductory paragraph, the authors give the grounds on which political independence can be achieved. Such grounds should be reasonable and explained thus justifiable. This is according to the law of nature and as such the causes are given thereafter. The preamble, gives the justification for seeking independence in that peoples rights have been trampled. Men are created equal with unalienable rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness and if the government is not able to guarantee these rights, it ought not to be in power (Jefferson, 7). The end the colonies are thus seeking to achieve through independence is the people rights. Though sometimes the sufferings can be condoned, it reaches a time when these sufferings become too much to be tolerated and it’s the role of the people whose consent gives the government power to throw it and institute a new government. The American people had suffered a long train of abuses and usurpations under Great Britain’s tyrannical rule and it was time to act. The king had refused to Assent to laws, obstructed laws of naturalization of foreigners, frustrated the house of representatives in their law making process, had taken over control of judges, subjected them to jurisdiction foreign to their constitution, taxed them without consultation, destroyed their lives through plunder and made fellow citizens to become their executioners (Jefferson, 8-11). These were just but a few injustices committed against them by the GB king. Despite their petitions to the king, their pleas had not been heard or acted upon. Instead, they are subjected to more suffering. It is the philosophy of government to have a revolution if citizens’ rights are not respected and as such the revolution was justified. The colonies tried peaceful means to secure their rights but the GB government refused to heed to their cries. This led to the declaration of independence but this did not prevent GB from harming them especially through the stamp Act of 1765 which required them to pay taxes to GB government and the coercive Acts of 1774 aimed at punishing Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party of 1773 (Ward, 2). The only possible to gain freedom was through rebellion since petitions were not working. They warned Britain of unwarranted jurisdiction over US and besides, they knew the circumstances of emigration and settlement by the Americans but decided to ignore them. Overthrowing a government in place is not an easy task and requires using all the necessary means available for the sake of freedom. The use of rebellions in form of a revolutionary war leading to disorder and deaths was justified as the peaceful means had failed. Furthermore, Machiavelli indicates that any means whether moral or immoral can be used to achieve political ends provided it is for public good (Ramsay, 34). Since the rebellion was not for personal gain it was worth sacrificing a few citizens for the greater good of all instead of waiting for the time when all citizens would be harmed by not taking such actions. If the revolutionary war did not occur, then people of US would still be under GB rule and without their inalienable rights of life, liberty and happiness. Jefferson felt that a rebellion was justified for achieving freedom from tyrannical rule. First, as independent colonies with own parliament they were not supposed to be subjected to other jurisdictions and even being taxed to finance British Government. Rebellion was the only way to stamp their authority and refuse any control of liberty. Besides, that government needed to be overthrown and only a revolution can be effective in such ends. Jefferson would have been cautious of Machiavelli’s advice. As much as immoral means can be used to achieve political ends, America was a just and moral country believing in equality for all hence not sacrificing some people. All individuals have a right to life which needs to be safeguarded that is why they were trying to use peaceful means. However, the situation called for Machiavelli’s advice about forgetting morality for the sake of public good. I agree with Jefferson that a government should seek the consent of the governed but if it becomes to destructive to the rights of citizens it should abolished with whatever means for the safety and happiness of the citizens. However, I do not agree that humans are made to suffer and as such be subjected to unnecessary evil. The problem should be remedied as soon as possible before more harm is inflicted on citizens. The end thus justifies the means. References Jefferson, Thomas. The United States Declaration of Independence: Original and Modernized. Wildside Press, 2009. Ramsay, Maureen. “Machiavelli’s Political Philosophy in the Prince.” In N. Warburton., J. Pike., D. Matravers. Reading Political Philosophy: Machiavelli to Mill. London: Routledge, 2000. Ward, Harry. M. Going Down Hill Legacies of American Revolutionary War. Pal Alto, CA: Academia Press, 2009. Read More