{"id":359806,"date":"2026-07-31T08:17:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T08:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/uncategorized\/why-the-natural-right-the-pursuit-of-happiness-in-the-declaration-of-independence\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T08:17:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T08:17:14","slug":"why-the-natural-right-the-pursuit-of-happiness-in-the-declaration-of-independence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=359806","title":{"rendered":"Why the Natural Right ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’ in the Declaration of Independence?"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

‘We hold these
\ntruths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
\nendowed by their\u00a0Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these
\nare Life, Liberty and the pursuit of\u00a0Happiness.’<\/p>\n

The
\nDeclaration of Independence\u00a0<\/i>of the thirteen united States of America,\u00a0<\/i>July
\n4, 1776<\/p>\n

In light of
\nJuly, 2026 being a celebration of 250 years of American independence\u2014really, a
\ncelebration of the end of the claim that the king, claiming a divine right to
\nrule, was the law\u2014I would like to offer a few paragraphs on the meaning of
\nthe\u00a0<\/i>Declaration of Independence\u2019s\u00a0(1776) phrase that people
\nhave natural rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of
\nhappiness.\u00a0\u00a0I have often wondered what this \u2018pursuit of happiness\u2019
\nmeans.\u00a0\u00a0I believe I now know the source and direction of thought in
\nthis phrase, and to that end I have updated my essay, \u2018Social Cohesion,
\nPopulism, and the Church’s Prophetic Role in the State\u2019. The following
\nparagraph has been added to that essay:<\/i><\/p>\n

Aristotle is, in my view, likely
\nthe source for the surprising claim in America’s\u00a0Declaration of
\nIndependence\u00a0<\/i>about the ‘pursuit of happiness’.\u00a0 It reads, ‘We
\nhold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
\nare endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these
\nare Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’\u00a0 John Locke, whose
\nphilosophical ideas were foundational for the Americans, had written that
\nnatural rights included life, liberty, and possessions: \u2018The state of nature
\nhas a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one: and reason, which is
\nthat law, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it, that being all equal
\nand independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or
\npossessions\u2019 (Second Treatise on Government\u00a0<\/i>chapter II, section
\n6).\u00a0 He even said that ‘government has no other end than the preservation
\nof property’ (Second Treatise on Government\u00a0<\/i>chapter 7,\u00a0<\/i>section
\n94, cf. sect. 124, etc.).\u00a0 Marcus Tullius Cicero had also said that
\ngovernment\u2019s purpose is to secure property rights (De Officiis\u00a0<\/i>2.73).\u00a0
\nWhy, then, did the Declaration substitute ‘pursuit of happiness’?\u00a0 In the
\nseventh book of\u00a0Politics,\u00a0<\/i>Aristotle says that the best form of
\nconstitution will be that which offers the most desirable form of life.\u00a0 He
\nwrites, <\/p>\n

The student who
\nis going to make a suitable investigation of the best form of constitution must
\nnecessarily decide first of all what is the most desirable mode of life. For
\nwhile this is uncertain it is also bound to be uncertain what is the best
\nconstitution, since it is to be expected that the people that have the best
\nform of government available under their given conditions will fare the best,
\nexceptional circumstances apart (Politics <\/i>7.1323a).<\/p>\n

This, he continues, has less to
\ndo with external goods and more to do with virtue and wisdom (7.1323a-b).\u00a0
\nIn his\u00a0Nichomachean Ethics,\u00a0<\/i>Aristotle sets out the goal of
\nlife as happiness (eudaimonia<\/i>), meaning well-being, and virtues as the
\nmeans by which one attains this.\u00a0 Happiness is meant in an ethical sense,
\nas here in\u00a0Politics\u00a0<\/i>when speaking of the end for government.\u00a0<\/i>The
\nDeclaration claims that this, like other natural rights endowed by the Creator,
\nare not to be obstructed by government.\u00a0 <\/span>Thomas
\nJefferson, the main author of the Declaration, acknowledged that the sources of
\nthe Declaration included Aristotle: ‘All its authority rests then on the
\nharmonizing sentiments of\u00a0the day, whether expressed in conversation, in
\nletters, printed essays, or in the elementary books of public right, as
\nAristotle, Cicero, Locke, Sidney, etc.’ (Letter to Henry Lee,\u00a0<\/i>May
\n8, 1825).\u00a0 If Aristotle is the source of Jefferson\u2019s emendation of Locke, Jefferson
\nis following Aristotle\u2019s diminution of externals\u2014property\u2014and claiming that the
\nend or purpose of virtue is happiness.\u00a0 The constitution of a government
\nmust aim to establish the natural rights of life, liberty, and virtues that aim
\nat well-being.\u00a0 Indeed, a government that undermines virtue and allows,
\nentices, or even requires people to pursue vices does not aim at human
\nwell-being, and its interference in individuals\u2019 pursuits of virtue is a
\nusurpation of natural rights.\u00a0 <\/span>One does
\nnot need to speculate about what \u2018life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness\u2019
\nmeant as the litany of grievances that follow in the Declaration provide ample
\nexamples, although not organized into three categories as these overlap.\u00a0 <\/span>The final examples of King George III\u2019s
\nusurpation of these natural rights clearly demonstrate how he obstructed the
\ncolonists\u2019 \u2018pursuit of happiness\u2019 both in terms of living well and living
\nvirtuously:<\/p>\n

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our
\nCoasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. <\/p>\n

He is at this time transporting large
\nArmies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and
\ntyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely
\nparalleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a
\ncivilized nation. <\/p>\n

He has constrained our fellow Citizens
\ntaken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become
\nthe executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their
\nHands. <\/p>\n

He has excited domestic insurrections
\namongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers,
\nthe merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an
\nundistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jefferson\u2019s
\nreplacing of Locke\u2019s \u2018property\u2019 with \u2018the pursuit of happiness\u2019 was necessary,
\ntherefore, because the grievances were farther reaching than property seizures.\u00a0 They had to do with the King\u2019s (and Britain\u2019s)
\ninjustices against the colonists, his inciting others to do injustice against
\nthem, and his forcing them to do injustice against themselves.\u00a0 The pursuit of happiness was not about the
\nprosperous or joyful life but about living well and virtuously.\u00a0 Aristotle continues his discourse about the pursuit
\nof happiness for both the individual and the State, but the Declaration needed
\nno further philosophical discussion as the exigencies of the colonists\u2019
\nsituation were in clear focus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0 ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their\u00a0Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of\u00a0Happiness.’ The Declaration of Independence\u00a0of the thirteen united States of America,\u00a0July 4, 1776 In light of July, 2026 being a celebration of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[27108,4651,11005,811,9037],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-359806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-declaration","tag-happiness","tag-independence","tag-natural","tag-pursuit"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy the Natural Right 'The Pursuit of Happiness' in the Declaration of Independence? - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/som2nypost.com\/?p=359806\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why the Natural Right 'The Pursuit of Happiness' in the Declaration of Independence? 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