Story by Lorna Wallace
One of the most famous quotes in American history comes from the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims that “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” are “unalienable Rights.”
These days, the right to pursue happiness is often thought to concern seeking subjective joy, but language is constantly evolving. Back in the 18th century, both pursuit and happiness had secondary definitions which completely change the meaning of the iconic quote.
When Thomas Jefferson drafted the declaration in the summer of 1776, he almost certainly wasn’t thinking of the joyful emotional state when listing happiness as a right. As political science professor James R. Rogers explained in First Things, at that time happiness could also mean “prosperity” and “well-being in the broader sense.” This sense encompassed “physical needs, but it also included a significant moral and religious dimension.”
So how do we know which definition Jefferson was using? The Founding Father based the declaration on similar contemporary political documents, many of which used happiness to mean the physical and spiritual well-being of all citizens rather than an individual’s fleeting pleasure. For instance, the Virginia Declaration of Rights—written mainly by George Mason and adopted on June 12, 1776—speaks of “the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.”
This broader meaning of happiness is even clearer in later documents. The Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 notes that “the happiness of a people, and the good order and preservation of civil government, essentially depend upon piety, religion, and morality.” Similarly, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 declares that “Religion, morality, and knowledge” are “necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind.”