"...All men are created equal;...they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Thomas Jefferson The Declaration of Independence is, to me, the founding document of America. It is what made Amer...

Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence is a representative piece of Enlightenment writing that demonstrates the great influence that the work of John Locke must have had on him. Jefferson adapted Locke's concept of an inherent "contract" between the rulers and the ruled,...

"The Declaration Of The Rights Of Man and Citizen of 1789," created by the National Assembly, represents that misfortunes and corruptions of the United States government are caused by negligence, ignorance, and contempt for human rights. It affirmed several sacred rights of men and of citizens, wh...

Over the past decade, DNA technology has revolutionized the criminal justice system. In countless cases, DNA results have served to identify suspects, convict the guilty, and bring solace to many victims. In several cases, DNA examinations have exonerated the innocent, at times, after years of unjus...

"The population in the prison system of the US has doubled since nineteen eighty-five." ( System of a Down, The Prison Song, Toxicity.) It is things like this that make me feel that all is not well in America at the time being. It seems that America's patriotism has come back not soon enough a...

Thomas Jefferson, America's third president, has had a large influence on our countries freedom from Great Britain. He was a man who joined to fight the cause and rebel because of his belief to do the right thing. Thomas Jefferson's unique intelligence-led our country to success by composing the D...

Among the many comments received about the early selections collected in The Heath Anthology of American Literature, the plaintive comment, even from early Americanists, about the number of so-called new writers represented there strikes me as most honest and forthright. Indeed, more than a few coll...

Andrew Jackson, more than any of his other predecessors, was elected by the popular vote. He was a president who "sought to act as the direct representative of the common man" (whitehouse.gov). In 1828 "Old Hickory", the nickname he received from his numerous conflicts with the Indians, won nu...

Andrew Doody wrote in his discussion that " I really don't know much about him (Thomas Paine) from history class". Neither do I. It is very important that people are educated about Thomas Paine as he played an important role in the gaining of independence from Britian and the drafting of the...

American Literature is written by people who call themselves American and at the same time shape what it means to be American. American Literature separates itself from other forms of literature because of its individuality and most of what is written about in American literature are things that r...