| The CAMC
Seminar |
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| Council for America My
Country |
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"To Empower to Practise Good
Citizenship" |
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| 965 Clover Court, Blue Bell, PA 19422 |
T: (610) 277-0149 |
F: (610) 277-3992 |
E:camc@icasinc.org |
Jerry Boucher
Im Ja P. Choi
Steve S. Choi
Mary Etezady
Don Kim
Il Hwan Kim
Sang Joo Kim
|
Director for Systems Management
Director for Community Relations
Deputy Director for Voter Registration
Advisor
Secretary (215) 542 - 1000
Director for Outreach
Chairman |
Tae Shik Kwon
Jae Jin Ma
Willie Pai
Choon Ki Yoo
Ae Sook Yoon
Il Joong Yoon |
Director for Community Relations
Treasurer
Deputy Secretary
Deputy Director for Outreach
Director for Ageing & Elder Care
Director for Voter Registration |
The Declaration of Independence
Ae-Sook Yoon
The Declaration of Independence has been called one of the most important
document in modern history. It has been called the birth certificate of
America. It was a document proclaiming the independence of the 13 British
colonies in America and adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.
The declaration recounted the grievances of the colonies against the British
crown and declared the colonies to be free and independent states. The
colonies declared to the world their reasons for wanting independence.
Such a declaration helped them to win allies in the struggle. Even more
important, it helped to unite the country.
The 13 American colonies were founded largely by people who were searching
for more freedom-religious, political, or economic. By 1775 the American
colonies were becoming dissatisfied with the way King George and his ministers
were governing them. A constitutional monarch, George III ruled his empire
through the Parliament in London. But, the American colonies were not allowed
to elect any representatives to Parliament. They were taxed, but not entitled
to a voice in their government. Through his ministers and royal governors
George III was imposing new rules and laws to reduce their rights and restrict
their liberties. In spite of their grievances, most of the richer families in
America were Loyalist who supported George III and his government. They wanted
reconciliation, not independence.
Before the end of 1775 a widespread change was taking place in people's minds.
This was due chiefly to King George's dictational policies, a series of bloody
fights with the redcoats in Boston, the King's plans for sending a larger army
into America, and the persuasive efforts of certain Americans who were
advocating the cause of independence. On Jan.9,1776, Tom Paine published
Common Sense, a remarkable revolutionary pamphlet which shook the people in
the 13 colonies and won a hundred thousand new converts to the cause of
independence. Using plain arguments, Paine urged that the time had come for
America to break its bonds with Britain and form a new government.
The procedure by which the Declaration of Independence came into being was as
follows: On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, in the name of the Virginia
delegates to the Continental Congress, made the motion. John Adams of
Massachusettes promptly seconded the motion. But many delegates were opposed
it, and several days of heated debating followed. In the meantime, a committee
comprising the delegates Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger
Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston was preparing a declaration in line with
Lee's resolution. Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, thirty-three, prepared the
draft. Adams and Franklin made a number of minor changes in Jefferson's draft
before it was submitted to Congress, which , on July 4, made a number of
additional small alterations, deleted several sections, including one
condemning black slavery, incorporated Lee's resolution, and issued the whole
as the Declaration of Independence. It was adopted by a unanimous vote of the
delegates.
The proclamation of independence marked the culmination of a political process
that had begun as a protest against oppressive restrictions imposed by the
mother country on colonial trade, manufacturing, and political liberty and had
developed into a revolutionary struggle resulting in the establishment of a new nation. Even after the United States was established, it had a continuing influence on political developments in America and Europe for many years. Abraham Lincoln recognized the Declaration of Independence as the central pillar in the house of democracy. Lincoln issued his decree of freedom, the Emancipation Proclamation, on Jan 1,1863. In effect, Lincoln restored the clause against slavery which had been cut from Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration in 1776, at the insistence of South Carolina and Georgia. If the clause had not been cut, it's possible that 4 bloody years of the Civil War might have been averted. It also served as a source of authority for the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution. Its influence is manifest in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, adopted by the National Assembly of France in 1789, during the French Revolution. In the 19th century, various peoples of Europe and of Latin America fighting for freedom
incorporated in their programs the principles formulated in the Declaration of
Independence.
How do the ideas in the Declaration continue to affect our lives today? What
does it mean to us today? A pledge on the part of all to uphold the rights of
each, the chart of liberty has become the birthright of every American. At the
same time, since its "self-evident truths" are disputed, "denied
and evaded" by selfish men in every generation, the fulfillment of the
promise becomes the responsibility of each new generation. The meaning of
America's revolutionary charter must be spelled out again and again. The
realization of its promise remains a living challenge to all who would uphold
and extend the rights of man, and affirm the proper purpose of government, as
set forth in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence.
We, Korean-Americans, have been settled in America for the sake of our ideals,
our hopes of a better future, for ourselves or our children. We're entitled to
a voice in our American government because we are American citizens! We must
challenge to uphold and extend our rights to fulfil the promise of the
Declaration. We must have a strong desire to separate from our mother country,
to become independent. We should try to become a good American citizen. Let's
study American history and read a newspaper. Let's learn about American
socioeconomic structures. Let's register to vote. Let's empower ourselves to
fulfil the promise of the Declaration.
CAMC is a not-for-profit,
nonpartisan, civic and educational organisation. It promotes ways to enhance
good citizenship and its practice. It is solely supported by voluntary
contributions.CAMC
strives to provide public service pro bono publico in the public interest.
All staff members are non-paid volunteers.
This page last updated 7/5/2001 jdb
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