Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - wikipedia Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness This article is about a famous phrase. For other uses, see The Pursuit of Happiness. Office for Emergency Management. Office of War Information war poster 1941 -- 1945 `` Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness '' is a well - known phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence. The phrase gives three examples of the `` unalienable rights '' which the Declaration says have been given to all human beings by their Creator, and which governments are created to protect. Contents 1 Origin and phrasing 1.1 Meaning of `` happiness '' 1.2 Lockean roots hypothesis 1.3 Virginia Declaration of Rights 1.4 Alternative hypotheses 2 Comparable mottos worldwide 3 References Origin and phrasing The United States Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson, and then edited by the Committee of Five, which consisted of Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. It was then further edited and adopted by the Committee of the Whole of the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The second paragraph of the first article in the Declaration of Independence contains the phrase `` Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness ''. Jefferson 's `` original Rough draught '' is on exhibit in the Library of Congress. This version was used by Julian Boyd to create a transcript of Jefferson 's draft, which reads : We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable ; that all men are created equal & independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness ;... The Committee of Five edited Jefferson 's draft. Their version survived further edits by the whole Congress intact, and reads : 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. -- -- A number of possible sources or inspirations for Jefferson 's use of the phrase in the Declaration of Independence have been identified, although scholars debate the extent to which any one of them actually influenced Jefferson. Jefferson declared himself an Epicurean during his lifetime : this is a philosophical doctrine that teaches the pursuit of happiness and proposes autarchy, which translates as self - rule, self - sufficiency or freedom. The greatest disagreement comes between those who suggest the phrase was drawn from John Locke and those who identify some other source. Meaning of `` happiness '' There is debate about what the word `` happiness '' may have meant in 1776. Current usage focuses on pleasant, positive emotions and having needs satisfied, whereas in 1776 the common meaning may have been `` prosperity, thriving, wellbeing ''. Lockean roots hypothesis In 1689, Locke argued in his Two Treatises of Government that political society existed for the sake of protecting `` property '', which he defined as a person 's `` life, liberty, and estate ''. In A Letter Concerning Toleration, he wrote that the magistrate 's power was limited to preserving a person 's `` civil interest '', which he described as `` life, liberty, health, and indolency of body ; and the possession of outward things ''. He declared in his Essay Concerning Human Understanding that `` the highest perfection of intellectual nature lies in a careful and constant pursuit of true and solid happiness ''. According to those scholars who saw the root of Jefferson 's thought in Locke 's doctrine, Jefferson replaced `` estate '' with `` the pursuit of happiness '', although this does not mean that Jefferson meant the `` pursuit of happiness '' to refer primarily or exclusively to property. Under such an assumption, the Declaration of Independence would declare that government existed primarily for the reasons Locke gave, and some have extended that line of thinking to support a conception of limited government. Virginia Declaration of rights The first and second article of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason and adopted unanimously by the Virginia Convention of Delegates on June 12, 1776, speaks of happiness in the context of recognizably Lockean rights and is paradigmatic of the way in which `` the fundamental natural rights of mankind '' were expressed at the time. That all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they can not, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity ; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety. -- Virginia Declaration of Rights Benjamin Franklin was in agreement with Thomas Jefferson in downplaying protection of `` property '' as a goal of government. It is noted that Franklin found property to be a `` creature of society '' and thus, he believed that it should be taxed as a way to finance civil society. Alternative hypotheses In 1628, Sir Edward Coke wrote in The First Part of the Institutes of the Lawes of England, his commentary on Thomas de Littleton, that `` It is commonly said that three things be favoured in Law, Life, Liberty, Dower. '' At common law, dower was closely guarded as a means by which the widow and orphan of a deceased landowner could keep their real property. Garry Wills has argued that Jefferson did not take the phrase from Locke and that it was indeed meant to be a standard by which governments should be judged. Wills suggests Adam Ferguson as a good guide to what Jefferson had in mind : If, in reality, courage and a heart devoted to the good of mankind are the constituents of human felicity, the kindness which is done infers a happiness in the person from whom it proceeds, not in him on whom it is bestowed ; and the greatest good which men possessed of fortitude and generosity can procure to their fellow creatures is a participation of this happy character. If this be the good of the individual, it is likewise that of mankind ; and virtue no longer imposes a task by which we are obliged to bestow upon others that good from which we ourselves refrain ; but supposes, in the highest degree, as possessed by ourselves, that state of felicity which we are required to promote in the world. -- Adam Ferguson, An Essay on the History of Civil Society The 17th - century cleric and philosopher Richard Cumberland wrote that promoting the well - being of our fellow humans is essential to the `` pursuit of our own happiness ''. Locke never associated natural rights with happiness, but his philosophical opponent Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz made such an association in the introduction to his Codex Iuris Gentium. William Wollaston 's The Religion of Nature Delineated describes the `` truest definition '' of `` natural religion '' as being `` The pursuit of happiness by the practice of reason and truth ''. An English translation of Jean - Jacques Burlamaqui 's Principles of Natural and Politic Law prepared in 1763 extolled the `` noble pursuit '' of `` true and solid happiness '' in the opening chapter discussing natural rights. Historian Jack Rakove posits Burlamaqui as the inspiration for Jefferson 's phrase. Comparable mottos worldwide Other tripartite mottos include `` liberté, égalité, fraternité '' ( liberty, equality, fraternity ) in France ; `` Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit '' ( unity, justice and liberty ) in Germany and `` peace, order, and good government '' in Canada. It is also similar to a line in the Canadian Charter of Rights : `` life, liberty, security of the person '' ( this line was also in the older Canadian Bill of rights, which added `` enjoyment of property '' to the list ). The phrase can also be found in Chapter III, Article 13 of the 1947 Constitution of Japan, and in President Ho Chi Minh 's 1945 declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. An alternative phrase `` life, liberty, and property '', is found in the Declaration of Colonial Rights, a resolution of the First Continental Congress. The Fifth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution declare that governments can not deprive any person of `` life, liberty, or property '' without due process of law. Also, Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads, `` Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person ''. References Jump up ^ `` The Declaration of Independence : Rough Draft ''. USHistory.org. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved May 18, 2014. Scanned image of the Jefferson 's `` original Rough draught '' of the Declaration of Independence, written in June 1776, including all the changes made later by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and other members of the committee, and by Congress. Jump up ^ Rakove, Jack N. ( 2009 ). The Annotated U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Cambridge : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. pp. 7 -- 22. ISBN 0674036069. Jump up ^ Dube, Ann Marie ( May 1996 ). `` The Declaration of Independence ''. A Multitude of Amendments, Alterations and Additions. Pennsylvania : U.S. National Park Service. OCLC 44638441. Jump up ^ `` We Hold These Truths To Be Self Evident... '' U.S. Library of Congress. Retrieved October 29, 2013. Jump up ^ Boyd, Julian P., ed. ( 1950 ). The Papers of Thomas Jefferson. Volume 1 : 1760 -- 1776. Princeton : Princeton University Press. pp. 243 -- 47. OCLC 16353926. Jump up ^ `` Declaration of Independence ''. U.S. National Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013. Jump up ^ Khoddam, Rubin ( June 16, 2015 ). `` What 's Your Definition of Happiness ? ''. Psychology Today. Retrieved January 21, 2017. Jump up ^ Kaufman, Scott Barry ( January 30, 2016 ). `` The Differences between Happiness and Meaning in Life ''. Scientific American. Retrieved January 21, 2017. Jump up ^ Fountain, Ben ( September 17, 2016 ). `` Two American Dreams : how a dumbed - down nation lost sight of a great idea ''. The Guardian. Retrieved January 21, 2017. Jump up ^ Shannon, Timothy J. ( July 4, 2016 ). `` What About That Pursuit of Happiness ? ''. Philly.com via Gettysburg College. Retrieved January 21, 2017. Jump up ^ Locke, John ( 1988 ) ( 1689 ). Laslett, Peter, ed. Two Treatises of Government. Cambridge, NY : Cambridge University Press. Sec. 87, 123, 209, 222. ISBN 052135448X. Jump up ^ Locke, John ( 1983 ) ( 1689 ). Tully, James H., ed. A Letter Concerning Toleration. Indianapolis, IN : Hackett Publishing. p. 26. ISBN 091514560X. Jump up ^ Locke, John ( 1975 ) ( 1689 ). Nidditch, Peter H., ed. Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Oxford, UK : Clarendon Press. Book 2, Chapter 21, Section 51. ISBN 0198245955. Jump up ^ Zuckert, Michael P. ( 1996 ). The Natural Rights Republic. Notre Dame, IN : University of Notre Dame Press. pp. 73 -- 85. ISBN 0268014809. Jump up ^ Corbett, Ross J. ( 2009 ). The Lockean Commonwealth. Albany, NY : State University of New York Press. ISBN 1438427948. Jump up ^ Pangle, Thomas L. ( 1988 ). The Spirit of Modern Republicanism. Chicago, IL : University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226645401. Jump up ^ Gibson, Alan ( 2009 ). Interpreting the Founding ( 2nd ed. ). Lawrence, KS : University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0700617051. Jump up ^ Rahe, Paul A. ( 1994 ) ( 1992 ). Republics Ancient & Modern, Volume 3 ; Inventions of Prudence : Constituting the American Regime. Chapel Hill, NC : University of North Carolina Press. pp. 13 -- 19. ISBN 080784473X. Jump up ^ Rakove, Jack N. ( 2009 ). The Annotated U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Cambridge, MA : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. p. 78. ISBN 0674036069. Jump up ^ Banning, Lance ( 1995 ). Jefferson & Madison. New York, NY : Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 17, 103 -- 04. ISBN 0945612486. Lance Banning notes that the Virginia Declaration of Rights was the inspiration for the phrase in the Declaration of Independence, but does not trace it back to Locke, and in general downplays Jefferson 's debts to Locke. Jump up ^ `` The Virginia Declaration of Rights ''. U.S. National Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013. Jump up ^ Franklin, Benjamin ( 2006 ). Skousen, Mark, ed. The Compleated Autobiography. Washington, D.C. : Regnery Publishing. p. 413. ISBN 0 - 89526 - 033 - 6. Jump up ^ Coke, Edward ( 1628 ). The First Part of the Institutes of the Lawes of England. London : Adam Islip. Section 193. OCLC 84760833. Jump up ^ Whitehead, Edward Jenkins ( 1922 ). The Law of Real Property in Illinois. 1. Chicago : Burdette J. Smith & Company. p. 178. OCLC 60731472. Jump up ^ Wills, Gary ( 2002 ) ( 1978 ). Inventing America : Jefferson 's Declaration of Independence. New York, NY : Mariner Books. ISBN 978 - 0 - 618 - 25776 - 8. Jump up ^ Ferguson, Adam ( 1995 ) ( 1767 ). Oz - Salzberger, Fania, ed. An Essay on the History of Civil Society. Cambridge, NY : Cambridge University Press. pp. 99 -- 100. ISBN 052144215X. Jump up ^ Cumberland, Richard ( 2005 ) ( 1727 ). A Treatise of the Laws of Nature. Indianapolis, IN : Liberty Fund. pp. 523 -- 24. ISBN 0865974721. Jump up ^ Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm ( 1988 ). Riley, Patrick, ed. Leibniz : Political Writings ( 2nd ed. ). Cambridge, NY : Cambridge University Press. p. 171. ISBN 0521353807. Jump up ^ Wollaston, William ( 1759 ) ( 1722 ). The Religion of Nature Delineated ( 8th ed. ). London : Samuel Palmer. p. 90. OCLC 2200588. Jump up ^ Burlamaqui, Jean - Jacques ( 2006 ) ( 1747 ). The Principles of Natural and Politic Law. Indianapolis, IN : Liberty Fund. p. 31. ISBN 0865974969. Jump up ^ Rakove, Jack N. ( 2010 ). Revolutionaries : A New History of the Invention of America. Boston, MA : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 300. ISBN 0618267468... arguably owed more to Jefferson 's reading of the Swiss jurist Jean - Jacques Burlamaqui than it did to his manifest debt to John Locke. Jump up ^ Dyck, Perry Rand ( 2000 ). Canadian Politics : Critical Approaches ( 3rd ed. ). Scarborough, ON : Nelson Thomson Learning. ISBN 978 - 0 - 17 - 616792 - 9. Historical documents of the United States Constitution Preamble & Articles Preamble II III IV V VI VII Amendments Ratified 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Pending Congressional Apportionment Titles of Nobility Corwin ( State Domestic Institutions ) Child Labor Unsuccessful Equal Rights District of Columbia Voting Rights See also List of Constitutional Amendments Bill of Rights ( Amendments 1 -- 10 ) Reconstruction Amendments ( Amendments 13 -- 15 ) Amendment proposals in Congress Conventions to propose amendments State ratifying conventions Formation History Articles of Confederation Mount Vernon Conference Annapolis Convention Philadelphia Convention Virginia Plan New Jersey Plan Connecticut Compromise Three - Fifths Compromise Committee of Detail Signing Independence Hall Syng inkstand The Federalist Papers Anti-Federalist Papers Massachusetts Compromise Virginia Ratifying Convention Hillsborough Convention Drafting and ratification timeline Clauses Appointments Appropriations Assistance of Counsel Bill of credit Case or Controversy Citizenship Commerce Compact Compulsory Process Confrontation Contract Copyright and Patent Double Jeopardy Due Process Equal Protection Establishment Exceptions Excessive Bail Ex post facto Extradition Free Exercise Free Speech Fugitive Slave Full Faith and Credit General Welfare Guarantee Impeachment Import - Export Ineligibility ( Emolument ) Militia Natural - born citizen Necessary and Proper New States No Religious Test Oath or Affirmation Origination Petition Postal Presentment Privileges and Immunities Privileges or Immunities Recommendation Self - Incrimination Speech or Debate Speedy Trial State of the Union Supremacy Suspension Take Care Takings Taxing and Spending Territorial Title of Nobility Treaty Trial by Jury Vesting Vicinage War Powers List of clauses Interpretation Concurrent powers Congressional enforcement Constitutional law Criminal procedure Criminal sentencing Dormant Commerce Clause Enumerated powers Equal footing Executive privilege Incorporation of the Bill of Rights Judicial review Nondelegation doctrine Preemption Saxbe fix Separation of church and state Separation of powers Taxation power Unitary executive theory Signatories Convention President George Washington New Hampshire John Langdon Nicholas Gilman Massachusetts Nathaniel Gorham Rufus King Connecticut William Samuel Johnson Roger Sherman New York Alexander Hamilton New Jersey William Livingston David Brearley William Paterson Jonathan Dayton Pennsylvania Benjamin Franklin Thomas Mifflin Robert Morris George Clymer Thomas Fitzsimons Jared Ingersoll James Wilson Gouverneur Morris Delaware George Read Gunning Bedford Jr. John Dickinson Richard Bassett Jacob Broom Maryland James McHenry Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer Daniel Carroll Virginia John Blair James Madison North Carolina William Blount Richard Dobbs Spaight Hugh Williamson South Carolina John Rutledge Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Charles Pinckney Pierce Butler Georgia William Few Abraham Baldwin Convention Secretary William Jackson Display and legacy National Archives Charters of Freedom Rotunda Independence Mall Constitution Day Constitution Gardens National Constitution Center Scene at the Signing of the Constitution ( painting ) A More Perfect Union ( film ) Worldwide influence Declaration of Independence Primary author Thomas Jefferson Signatories President of Congress John Hancock ( Massachusetts ) New Hampshire Josiah Bartlett William Whipple Matthew Thornton Massachusetts Samuel Adams John Adams Robert Treat Paine Elbridge Gerry Rhode Island Stephen Hopkins William Ellery Connecticut Roger Sherman Samuel Huntington William Williams Oliver Wolcott New York William Floyd Philip Livingston Francis Lewis Lewis Morris New Jersey Richard Stockton John Witherspoon Francis Hopkinson John Hart Abraham Clark Pennsylvania Robert Morris Benjamin Rush Benjamin Franklin John Morton George Clymer James Smith George Taylor James Wilson George Ross Delaware George Read Caesar Rodney Thomas McKean Maryland Samuel Chase William Paca Thomas Stone Charles Carroll of Carrollton Virginia George Wythe Richard Henry Lee Thomas Jefferson Benjamin Harrison Thomas Nelson Jr. Francis Lightfoot Lee Carter Braxton North Carolina William Hooper Joseph Hewes John Penn South Carolina Edward Rutledge Thomas Heyward Jr. Thomas Lynch Jr. Arthur Middleton Georgia Button Gwinett Lyman Hall George Walton See also Virginia Declaration of Rights Lee Resolution Committee of Five Document 's history signing portrait Second Continental Congress `` All men are created equal '' `` Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness '' `` Consent of the governed '' Independence Hall Syng inkstand American Revolution Articles of Confederation Signatories Primary drafter John Dickinson New Hampshire Josiah Bartlett John Wentworth Jr. Massachusetts John Hancock Samuel Adams Elbridge Gerry Francis Dana James Lovell Samuel Holten Rhode Island William Ellery Henry Marchant John Collins Connecticut Roger Sherman Samuel Huntington Oliver Wolcott Titus Hosmer Andrew Adams New York James Duane Francis Lewis William Duer Gouverneur Morris New Jersey John Witherspoon Nathaniel Scudder Pennsylvania Robert Morris Daniel Roberdeau Jonathan Bayard Smith William Clingan Joseph Reed Delaware Thomas McKean John Dickinson Nicholas Van Dyke Maryland John Hanson Daniel Carroll Virginia Richard Henry Lee John Banister Thomas Adams John Harvie Francis Lightfoot Lee North Carolina John Penn Cornelius Harnett John Williams South Carolina Henry Laurens William Henry Drayton John Mathews Richard Hutson Thomas Heyward Jr. Georgia John Walton Edward Telfair Edward Langworthy See also Continental Congress Congress of the Confederation American Revolution Perpetual Union Continental Association Signatories President of Congress Peyton Randolph New Hampshire John Sullivan Nathaniel Folsom Massachusetts Bay Thomas Cushing Samuel Adams John Adams Robert Treat Paine Rhode Island Stephen Hopkins Samuel Ward Connecticut Eliphalet Dyer Roger Sherman Silas Deane New York Isaac Low John Alsop John Jay James Duane Philip Livingston William Floyd Henry Wisner Simon Boerum New Jersey James Kinsey William Livingston Stephen Crane Richard Smith John De Hart Pennsylvania Joseph Galloway John Dickinson Charles Humphreys Thomas Mifflin Edward Biddle John Morton George Ross The Lower Counties Caesar Rodney Thomas McKean George Read Maryland Matthew Tilghman Thomas Johnson, Junr William Paca Samuel Chase Virginia Richard Henry Lee George Washington Patrick Henry, Junr Richard Bland Benjamin Harrison Edmund Pendleton North Carolina William Hooper Joseph Hewes Richard Caswell South Carolina Henry Middleton Thomas Lynch Christopher Gadsden John Rutledge Edward Rutledge See also Virginia Association First Continental Congress Carpenters ' Hall Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress Thomas Jefferson 3rd President of the United States ( 1801 -- 1809 ) 2nd U.S. Vice President ( 1797 -- 1801 ) 1st U.S. Secretary of State ( 1790 -- 1793 ) U.S. Minister to France ( 1785 -- 1789 ) 2nd Governor of Virginia ( 1779 -- 1781 ) Delegate, Second Continental Congress ( 1775 -- 1776 ) Founding documents of the United States A Summary View of the Rights of British America ( 1774 ) Initial draft, Olive Branch Petition ( 1775 ) Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms ( 1775 ) 1776 Declaration of Independence Committee of Five authored physical history `` All men are created equal '' `` Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness '' `` Consent of the governed '' 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom freedom of religion French Revolution Co-author, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( 1789 ) Presidency Inaugural Address ( 1801 1805 ) Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves Louisiana Purchase Lewis and Clark Expedition Corps of Discovery timeline Empire of Liberty Red River Expedition Pike Expedition Cumberland Road Embargo Act of 1807 Chesapeake -- Leopard Affair Non-Intercourse Act of 1809 First Barbary War Native American policy Marbury v. Madison West Point Military Academy State of the Union Addresses ( texts 1801 1802 1805 ) Cabinet Federal judicial appointments Other noted accomplishments Early life and career Founder, University of Virginia history Land Ordinance of 1784 Northwest Ordinance 1787 Anti-Administration party Democratic - Republican Party Jeffersonian democracy First Party System republicanism Plan for Establishing Uniformity in the Coinage, Weights, and Measure of the United States ( 1790 ) Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions A Manual of Parliamentary Practice ( 1801 ) Jeffersonian architecture Barboursville Farmington Monticello gardens Poplar Forest University of Virginia The Rotunda The Lawn Virginia State Capitol White House Colonnades Other writings Notes on the State of Virginia ( 1785 ) 1787 European journey memorandums Indian removal letters Jefferson Bible ( 1895 ) Jefferson manuscript collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society Related Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment American Philosophical Society American Revolution patriots Member, Virginia Committee of Correspondence Committee of the States Founding Fathers of the United States Franco - American alliance Jefferson and education Religious views Jefferson and slavery Jefferson and the Library of Congress Jefferson disk Jefferson Pier Pet mockingbird National Gazette Residence Act Compromise of 1790 Sally Hemings Jefferson -- Hemings controversy Betty Hemings Separation of church and state Swivel chair The American Museum magazine Virginia dynasty Elections United States Presidential election 1796 1800 1804 Legacy Bibliography Jefferson Memorial Mount Rushmore Birthday Thomas Jefferson Building Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression Jefferson Lecture Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service Jefferson Lab Monticello Association Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson College Thomas Jefferson School of Law Thomas Jefferson University Washington and Jefferson National Forests Other placenames Currency depictions Jefferson nickel Two - dollar bill U.S. postage stamps Popular culture Ben and Me ( 1953 short ) 1776 ( 1969 musical 1972 film ) Jefferson in Paris ( 1995 film ) Thomas Jefferson ( 1997 film ) Liberty ! ( 1997 documentary series ) Liberty 's Kids ( 2002 animated series ) John Adams ( 2008 miniseries ) Jefferson 's Garden ( 2015 play ) Hamilton ( 2015 musical ) Jefferson -- Eppes Trophy Wine bottles controversy Family Peter Jefferson ( father ) Jane Randolph Jefferson ( mother ) Lucy Jefferson Lewis ( sister ) Randolph Jefferson ( brother ) Isham Randolph ( grandfather ) William Randolph ( great - grandfather ) Martha Jefferson ( wife ) Martha Jefferson Randolph ( daughter ) Mary Jefferson Eppes ( daughter ) Harriet Hemings ( daughter ) Madison Hemings ( son ) Eston Hemings ( son ) Thomas J. Randolph ( grandson ) Francis Eppes ( grandson ) George W. Randolph ( grandson ) John Wayles Jefferson ( grandson ) Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. ( son - in - law ) John Wayles Eppes ( son - in - law ) John Wayles ( father - in - law ) Dabney Carr ( brother - in - law ) Dabney Carr ( nephew ) ← John Adams James Madison → George Mason United States Founding events Drafted, 1769 Virginia Association resolutions Primary author, 1774 Fairfax Resolves Primary author, 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights `` All men are created equal '' Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness Freedom of the press Freedom of religion Consent of the governed Baseless search and seizure Cruel and unusual punishments Speedy trial 1776 Virginia Constitution 1785 Mount Vernon Conference 1787 Constitutional Convention Virginia Ratifying Convention Co-father, United States Bill of Rights history Founding Father Writings inspired 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( France ) 1789 United States Bill of Rights Life Chopawamsic plantation Gunston Hall On slavery Ohio Company Legacy George Mason Memorial George Mason University George Mason Stadium George Mason Memorial Bridge George Mason High School 18 - cent postage stamp Related Age of Enlightenment American Enlightenment American Revolution patriots Wilson v. Mason Hollin Hall Woodbridge plantation Mason 's Island Family George Mason V ( son ) William Mason ( son ) Thomson Mason ( son ) John Mason ( son ) Thomas Mason ( son ) George Mason III ( father ) Thomson Mason ( brother ) George Mason II ( grandfather ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Life,_Liberty_and_the_pursuit_of_Happiness&oldid=806694313 '' Categories : United States Declaration of Independence English phrases Human rights concepts Political catchphrases Happiness Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2014 Talk Contents About Wikipedia 한국어 日本 語 Svenska ไทย Edit links This page was last edited on 23 October 2017, at 16 : 03. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what rights are included in the declaration of independence
Answer: Life