Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" is a well-known phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence and considered by some as part of one of the most well crafted, influential sentences in the history of the English language.[1] These three aspects are listed among the "unalienable rights" or sovereign rights of man.
[edit] Origin and phrasing
The seventeenth-century cleric and philosopher Richard Cumberland wrote in 1672 that promoting the well-being of our fellow humans is essential to the "pursuit of our own happiness."[2] John Locke, in his 1689 "A Letter Concerning Toleration," wrote that "Civil interest I call life, liberty, health, and indolency of body; and the possession of outward things..." Locke wrote in his 1693 Essay Concerning Human Understanding that "the highest perfection of intellectual nature lies in a careful and constant pursuit of true and solid happiness." [3] Locke never associated natural right with happiness, but in 1693 Locke's philosophical opponent Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz made such an association in the introduction to his Codex Iuris Gentium.[4] William Wollaston's 1722 book The Religion of Nature Delineated[5]
The first and second article of the Virginia Declaration of Rights adopted unanimously by the Virginia Convention of Delegates on June 12, 1776 and written by George Mason, is:
That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.
Benjamin Franklin was in agreement with Thomas Jefferson in downplaying protection of "property" as a goal of government. It is noted that Franklin found property to be a "creature of society" and thus, he believed that it should be taxed as a way to finance civil society.[6] The United States Declaration of Independence, which was primarily drafted by Jefferson, was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The text of the second section of the Declaration of Independence reads:
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.
An analysis of Jefferson's use of this phrase was provided by Garry Wills, in his book Inventing America: Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence.[7] While arguing against the commonly held belief that Jefferson took this phrase - but lightly - from Locke's "life, liberty, and property", Wills also argues against the belief that Jefferson was merely offering some vapid nicety, to which the government could not be held to account:
When Jefferson spoke of pursuing happiness, he had nothing vague or private in mind. He meant a public happiness which is measurable; which is, indeed, the test and justification of any government
[edit] Comparable mottos worldwide
Other tripartite mottos include "liberté, égalité, fraternité" (liberty, equality, fraternity) in France, "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit" (unity, justice and freedom) in Germany, "life, liberty, and prosperity" in Australia,[citation needed], or "peace, order and good government" in Canada.[8] It is also similar to a line in the Canadian Charter of Rights: "life, liberty, security of the person" (this line was also in the older Canadian Bill of rights, which added "enjoyment of property" to the list).
The phrase can also be found in Chapter III, Article 13 of the 1947 Constitution of Japan, and in President Ho Chi Minh's 1945 declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. An alternative phrase "life, liberty, and property", is found in the Declaration of Colonial Rights, a resolution of the First Continental Congress. The Fifth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution declare that governments cannot deprive any person of "life, liberty, or property" without due process of law. Also, Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads, "Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person."
Perhaps the most influential tripartite motto is John Locke's famous "Life, Liberty & Property", although the Founding Fathers chose Pursuit of Happiness rather than Property.
[edit] References
- ^ "Lucas, Stephen E., "Justifying America: The Declaration of Independence as a Rhetorical Document," in Thomas W. Benson, ed., American Rhetoric: Context and Criticism (1989).
- ^ Cumberland, Richard (2005). A Treatise of the Laws of Nature. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund. pp. 523–24.
- ^ John Locke, Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Book 2, Chapter 21, Section 51
- ^ Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm (1978). Patrick Riley. ed. Leibniz: Political Writings. Cambridge. p. 171.
- ^ The Principles of Natural and Politic Law. Indianapolis. 2006. p. 31.
- ^ Franklin, Benjamin (2006). Mark Skousen. ed. The Compleated Autobiography. Regnery Publishing. pp. 413. ISBN 0895260336.
- ^ Wills. ISBN 978-0-618-25776-8.
- ^ Dyck, Rand (2000). Canadian Politics: Critical Approaches (3rd edition). Thomas Nelson. ISBN 978-0176167929.
