How has our understanding of the first sentence of the Declaration of Independence changed over time?

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. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

We have moved onto constantly redefining Inclusivety of people, and their rights.

Men and Women, Nationality, Race, sex, rights to vote, rights to living how we want.

We may from time to time find ourselves having to defend these rights, but the Republic will endure.

How Washington’s Farewell Address still reflected inspiration from Common Sense have been the foundation of my respect for the genius of declaring Independence instead of war! The 50% of tax support for ‘military culture*’ alone would violate his expectations of “republican liberty” & private freedoms. *That was the socialism we declared Independence from! Now we’re indulgently invested

Explanation:

where is the section with the question?

after the civil war, and with the termination of slavery, the south was faced with a big problem; what was supposed to happen and how they were supposed to deal with the freedom and the rights that black people and freed slaves had gained as a result of the north defeating the south and forcing the end of slavery. first, most, if not all, of the workforce of the south came from slaves and they did not have an option to replace the loss of said workforce. second, particularly in the south, people were convinced that black people were lesser, less intelligent, less capable and less smart than whites. this posed a huge problem for them. also, southerners were faced with another issue; freed slaves now had a say in how their lives would be lived and the right to politically choose the way they would be governed. people in the south did not want to accept this, none of this and this opposition and the conflicts that arose from it, not to mention the afereffects of the war, forced the congress of the time to enact and enforce the reconstruction plans that had been proposed by president andrew johnson.