Assignment # 3 Due 10/01/13

“Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: First a right to life, secondly to liberty, and thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can.”

Samuel Adams- “The Rights of the Colonists”

     In "The Rights of the Colonists" by Samuel Adams, Adams is expressing his loyalty to the colonists, as he greatly believed in them. He believed that the colonists should have three rights, the right to life, liberty and property. The colonists’ right to life is defined as the right to live life by the choices and decisions one chooses to make. No one has the freedom to terminate another person’s life. The colonists’ right to liberty is defined by freedom. The colonists’ freedom is determined by their individual roles and responsibilities in the society in which they live. For example, a land owner has the freedom to grow and sell crops as defined by the role he plays in the society in which he lives. However, he does not have the freedom to make and create laws as he is not an elected government official. The colonists right to own land defines the colonists’ right to property. In Adam’s opinion, these rights are so crucial and critical that the colonists have the right to defend them in the way that suits them best. As previously mentioned, Adam’s believes in the colonists and the rights of the colonists, which is why he is explicitly stating what their rights should be. 

“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.”

Thomas Jefferson- “The Declaration of Independence”

     In this quote taken from the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson is stating the rights of the people. According to Jefferson, all men are created equal. This means that no one race, person, sex, religion etc has more power or control than another. No one is beneath anyone. We were all born human and have the same equal rights. Those rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. One’s right to live without their life being terminated by another person defines the right to life. The right to liberty is defined by one’s freedom. One’s right to try and find happiness in their life defines the right to the pursuit of happiness. No one has the legal authority to take these rights from a person.

     Samuel Adam’s quote relates to our lecture in how it explicitly challenges the government. Adam’s states that the colonists have the right to defend their rights in the best manner they can. This gives the colonists the right to rebel against the government. Thomas Jefferson also challenges the government by calling the rights of the people unalienable. Because the rights of the people are unalienable the government does not have the legal right to take them away from the people. This is a subtle way of rebelling against the government. As stated in the lecture, without the “revolutionary liberal ideology” of thinkers like Adam and Jefferson the American Revolution may not have taken place. If the American Revolution had not taken place, the United States of America that we live in today would be very different.