Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and J. Hector St. de Crevecoeur each
             offer a unique perspective about certain truths concerning American rights
             and responsibilities. Each author offers a promise of what America could
             and should be. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Elizabeth Cady Stanton are two
             prominent figures from America's recent past that also spoke out in regards
             to American's rights and responsibilities with the awe-inspiring "I have a
             Dream" speech and the "Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions".
             The Declaration of Independence is probably the most important
             document in American history. The Declaration revealed all
             the monstrous things that the king of England had done to the colonists and
             all the reasons why the United States had to become its own entity and
             become free from British rule. Great Britain had been violating the rights
             of the colonists by imposing taxes, not allowing them to represent
             themselves in parliament, not allowing them to pass laws and a great many
             more terrible offenses. All the colonists wanted to do was to live
             peacefully and prosperously and to be able to govern themselves, but the
             British king would not allow this to happen. The Declaration of
             Independence summed up all of these actions to show the king and the
             government why it was necessary for the colonists to separate from England.
             The Declaration was also used as a propaganda tool for the American's to
             state their reasons for rebellion and try to get other colonists to join
             them in their fight for freedom. Jefferson declares, "We hold these truths
             to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed
             by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are
             Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." (Jefferson, Paragraph 2)
             Jefferson's emphasis on the fact that the Declaration represents the will
             of the people to take actions immediately against the k...