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What are ten important concepts from the Declaration of Independence that might be in the 1787 Constitution?
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The Declaration of Independence introduces key concepts later reflected in the Constitution: equality under the law, liberty, government by consent, rejection of tyranny, and protection of rights. The Constitution prohibits aristocracy, ensures fair treatment, and derives authority from the governed. It abolishes forced quartering, mandates taxation by elected representatives, allows jury trials, and prohibits dissolving legislative bodies. It affirms governments serve the common good, rights are inalienable, and republicanism is superior to monarchy.
In some of the most famous lines in the Declaration of Independence, we find important concepts that would later be incorporated in the Constitution:
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.
First is the idea, also incorporated in the Constitution, that (white) men are all equal under the law. The Constitution will incorporate the right to fair treatment and expressly prohibit the creation of an aristocracy.
Second, liberty (at least for whites) is treated as an important concept, one that is enshrined in the Constitution.
Third is the idea that governments are man-made and are structured from the bottom up—deriving their legitimacy from...
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the consent of the governed. This was a radical idea at a time when most governments were understood as divine in origin, with a monarch being appointed by God. The opposing concept of "consent of the governed" is enshrined in the Constitution.
Fourth, the declaration forcefully rejects the tyrannies it says are imposed by George III. These include forcing people to quarter troops in their homes at their own expense. This was abolished by the new US government. Fifth, the Constitution sets up taxation so that elected representatives establish the tax laws, which gives people a say through voting in how they will be taxed. Sixth, jury trials (which the declaration says George III has denied the Americans) are allowed in the new nation. Seventh, George III is accused of dissolving or not allowing legislative bodies to meet, another act that will be prohibited in the new republic.
Eighth, governments are instituted for the good of the people as a whole, not just the few on top. Ninth, people's rights are "inalienable"—they come from a divine source and cannot be taken away. Finally, implicit in this document is the idea that republicanism is a superior form of government to monarchy because it safeguards the rights of the people in the form of laws that cannot be transgressed.