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 from the United States Declaration of Independence.[1] The phrase gives three examples of the unalienable rights which the Declaration says have been given to all humans by their Creator, and which governments are created to protect. Like the other principles in the Declaration of Independence, this phrase is not legally binding, but has been widely referenced and seen as an inspiration for the basis of government.[2]

  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ "The Declaration of Independence". National Archives. 2015-10-30. Retrieved 2020-12-02.