Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
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"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is one of the most famous phrases in the United States Declaration of Independence. It expresses the essential goals of the Declaration. The United States is only one of two countries in the world which promises "the pursuit of happiness" in one of its founding documents. The other, Japan, promises "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" in Chapter III, Article 13 of the 1947 Constitution of Japan.
Thomas Jefferson employed the phrase to emphasize his contention that government ought to be a contract between the rulers and the ruled, for the purpose of protecting citizen's lives and property -- much as John Locke had proposed earlier. Some have argued that Jefferson purposely left out the word property and instead wrote "pursuit of happiness."
This tripartite motto is comparable to “liberté, égalité, fraternité” (liberty, equality, fraternity) in France or “peace, order and good government” in Canada.
Books
- Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness: Documents in American History. P. Scott Corbett and Ronald Naugle (ISBN 0072839996)