Delete comment from: Boston 1775
I think I'm missing something here. Dr. Allen seems to feel (I gather from her paper to which you link) that "to secure these rights" refers to the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But those are only some of the _several_ rights which are inalienably given to men: "among" doesn't limit or prioritize any particular ones. It would be different if the Declaration read "supreme among these rights," but it doesn't.
So it appears to me that securing "these rights" refers to the whole shebang of them, not just the few specifically mentioned. Even the idea that happiness is "substituted for" Lockean property doesn't make sense to me: it might be substituted in a list of examples, but both of those rights -- and others not mentioned -- are included in the category of "inalienable."
Jul 10, 2014, 6:31:01 PM
Posted to Our Declarations