The Declaration Of Independence - Original Writing

The Declaration of Independence is one of the most well-known documents in history. The Hollywood movie, National Treasure, helped reintroduce it to a whole new generation of Americans. In the movie, the main character emphasises one key section, â€Å"But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.† These words provide the rationale for why the American colonists felt it was within their right to revolt against the British Empire. Eighty-four years later, the states that formed the Confederate States of America felt their future†¦show more content†¦This was not the first time that South Carolina and other states threatened secession. Already in 1788, with the ink on the Constitution barely dry, several states objected to the Alien and Sedition Acts. These laws were designed to restrict the rights of immigrants and punish those who criticized the government. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison each wrote resolutions, known as the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions respectively, condemning the Acts. Jefferson’s resolution was more strongly worded, claiming that states could nullify any federal action that was not found in the Constitution. While many southerners considered these resolutions to be on equal footing with actual laws, most of the states rejected them. T he New Hampshire legislature responded by saying that the job of determining constitutionality resided with the Supreme Court, not the state legislatures. This idea of nullification, in which a state could declare an act of Congress unconstitutional, did not go away. In 1832, trouble arose surrounding the passage of a national tariff. South Carolina, led by John C. Calhoun, passed the Ordinance of Nullification. They claimed that the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and threatened to form a new independent government if the Federal government tried to force the implementation of the tariff. In response, President Jackson asked Congress