In particular, the first sentence of the second paragraph captures the American sense of freedom and equality of the time: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Freedom and the pursuit of Happiness. rights given by God the Creator.ii No nation has ever been founded before in which these God-given rights were cited as fundamental principles. In this sense the United States was exceptional among all the nations of the