Introduction
The creation of documents in which all the legal norms of a state appear is a very complex and time-consuming process. These documents are vital because they regulate the development not of one person but of an entire nation, setting their course for the future and representing it in the international arena. One of the first cases of writing such a legal document with the regulation of the rules and sets of laws of a country is the constitution of Philip Orlyk (Haggman, 2020). His constitution set the development of the whole state and marked the course for further development. With current events, we can notice that despite its long history, namely more than 350 years, people are still fighting for what was prescribed in it. However, the course of each country is different, so it is essential to be able to find differences or similarities in each. For this paper, the critical documents that created the history of America and the whole world will be examined, namely the U.S. Declaration of Independence, the Declaration of Human Rights, the Declaration of Women’s Rights, and the Haitian Declaration of Independence. Each of these documents is important and, despite their similar purpose, has a number of distinctive features that will be demonstrated in the course of this writing.
Discussion
First of all, the U.S. Declaration of Independence should be considered since many states and organizations often take it as an example when creating their legal documents. Without exaggeration, one can say that this document is one of the most important in the world, and the history of its creation is well-known outside the United States. The reason for its design was to spell out the rules by which the new, independent state would live and what rules to follow, as well as to make a statement to the world that a new state with its own policy and strategic course was formed (Peter Von Sivers et al., 2012). This document was initially conceived as an act of declaration of independence from another state, which raised the question of its sovereignty in other countries, including many monarchies in Europe. It was evident that the document had to be restricted, as it would have raised the wrong ideas in the minds of the citizens of Europe. Because it was one of the first documents with such a purpose, all the rules and regulations it contained were first created and therefore had a number of disadvantages (Peter Von Sivers et al., 2012). From the legal point of view, there was a great deal of detail to justify its deeds and create holes in the legal framework. However, this does not diminish the fact that attempts to make the first document that proclaims the right to independence have already taken a significant step for the whole world.
Another document that was ground-breaking in its time is the Declaration of Human Rights. In contrast to the U.S. Declaration of Independence, this document does not look at what is happening in the public sphere as an example of the creation of a separate country with its own norms and rights, but in a more humanistic way. In other words, we can say that the main difference between these declarations is the purpose of their creation, namely to consider the problem of creating a state with a similar set of rules against the need to regulate human relations not only in the legal field but also in the social field (Peter Von Sivers et al., 2012). This document was important because it did not divide rights on any grounds but viewed them as equal for all people around the world. The Declaration of Human Rights helped to unite the people of different countries and show them that they are able to exist together and create new opportunities for everyone.
Another document that was revolutionary in its creation was the Declaration of Women’s Rights, adopted not long ago but which has contributed to a worldwide trend. For a long time, women had fewer rights than men, which affected the development of humanity. Times have changed, and people have also demanded a change in this stereotype. That is why this declaration was created. It is a lot like the Human Rights Declaration, but not so voluminous which has fewer points and social value for everyone, that only considers a specific kind of people. If you compare it with the U.S. Declaration of Independence, it is not a fair comparison because it does not cover the basic principles of statehood. The Declaration of Women’s Rights could have been called radical at the time it was written, but time has changed, and the women’s rights society has dramatically improved its influence around the world. Therefore, this work can also be considered very important, even though its relevance is now behind us and there are new ways of promoting its ideas.
In addition, we should also consider another document. It is most similar to the U.S. Declaration of Independence because it has the same goals. It is about the creation of a state of law, such as Haiti. To look at this document, it is essential to draw parallels with its predecessor, which was mentioned earlier in this paper. They have some differences compared to the Declaration of American Independence, the main ones being the scale of the country that adopted it, as well as the novelty of the drafting of the document. The legal basis of the document is improved in comparison with its ancestor. Since it is no longer the first in its field, this means that the people who created it have a more precise point of view, which is shown in their declaration (Peter Von Sivers et al., 2012). This gives less leeway for free interpretation of the document and therefore expresses a more accurate position on the issue of non-dependence. As has already been said, this document is not new, which means that it is not revolutionary in its field. This view is held by citizens of other countries who have already obtained their independence, but for Haitians, the creation of their declaration becomes a turning point in the history of the development of their own state.
Conclusion
One can conclude that, despite the similarities in the names of some declarations, they are all different. This applies not only to the methods of creation but also to the goals that each document sets for itself. In these examples, it has been seen how vital the role of declarations is in the history of each state or organization. They demonstrate a position on an issue, as well as the voices that the people or participants in an assembly declare. They are all critical and must be observed by the world’s society because their writing is a proclamation, a thesis that is shown to the rest of the world and worth paying attention to. The most radical of all these documents is the Declaration of Independence. It had an enormous influence on the adoption of such documents and illustrated the example of their creation. Without this declaration, it would have been impossible to imagine the world as it is today. Each of the documents presented was able to achieve its goal in different ways. But the hardest way was the path taken by the women’s rights activists because it is still going on and the world is preparing for new changes. The rest of the documents came to fruition rather quickly, which once again confirms the importance of such declarations.
References
Haggman, B. (2020). The Bendery Constitution and Pylyp Orlyk and His Government-in-Exile in Sweden in 1715–1720. 288. Web.
Peter Von Sivers, Desnoyers, C., & Stow, G. B. (2012). Patterns of world history: Since 1750. Oxford University Press.