right to resist and the inherent right of every individual to be independent.

These were some of the main focuses of classical liberalism in early America.

On religious freedom, seventeenth century minister Roger Williams wrote: "All Civil States with their Officers of justice in their respective constitutions and administrations are proved essentially Civil, and therefore not judges, governors or defenders of the spiritual or Christian state and worship." (Volkomer, 50)

This quote is notable because it illustrates the early liberal ideas of religious freedom by stating that government officials have no right to pass judgment on religious practices. In furtherance of his views, Williams founded a colony at Plymouth and contributed to the development of religious tolerance in the new world. Religious tolerance meant that a nation with multiple religions need no longer mean a country with internal strife and civil insurrection due to intolerance (Volkomer, 1969). The notion of religious open-mindedness helped pave the way for individual independence by suggesting that people were able to

Modern America embraces and reveres the ideals above. This leaves modern liberalism with the chore of expanding these rights. The focus has now shifted from the attainment of these rights to the perfection of them. In the above statement I mean to show that liberal ideas of freedom and liberty have changed considerably. This can be clarified by the following quote: "A man who was poor, uneducated, ill-housed, and subject to the fluctuations economic cycle could not be considered free though he lived in a nation whose government abided by the tenets of laissez-faire. True liberty, liberals began to contend, required the ability of man to use his talents and energies in a constructive fashion-it meant the positive freedom to achieve and accomplish." (Volkomer, 4)

liberalism. This combined with the right to resist encroachments on this independence make up the legitimacy behind the revolution. The Declaration of Independence embodied these thoughts precisely and clearly. When Thomas Jefferson wrote about the "inalienable rights... life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" he was speaking of the inherent rights of man and went further to declare that any government that chooses to dispel these rights is subject to be overthrown by the governed. In short Jefferson was saying that the right of the

America was institutionalized in 1776 by the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson. This document claimed that in America,”…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.” American society in the 19th century proved this declaration to be untrue. These rights he outlined in the Declaration of Independence not pertain to slaves, white males who did not own property, and women.

So has the proverbial question is have we as a society begun to realize the true meaning of the idea of

Some topics in this essay:
Modern America, FREEDOM LIBERTY, Civil Officers, Franklin Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, , Declaration Independence, Bondage Freedom, Patrick Henry, Liberty Pursuit, religious freedom, thomas jefferson, freedom liberty, declaration independence, idea freedom liberty, inalienable rights, franklin roosevelt, classical liberalism, idea freedom, modern liberalism, ideas religious freedom, life liberty pursuit, rights life liberty, rights life,