{"id":3832,"date":"2024-08-25T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-25T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/?p=3832"},"modified":"2024-08-23T13:20:15","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T18:20:15","slug":"the-pursuit-of-happiness-the-true-meaning-of-the-misunderstood-phrase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/the-pursuit-of-happiness-the-true-meaning-of-the-misunderstood-phrase\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pursuit of Happiness: The True Meaning of the Misunderstood Phrase"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Story by Lorna Wallace<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most famous quotes in American history comes from the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims that \u201cLife, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness\u201d are \u201cunalienable Rights.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em> and happiness<\/em> had secondary definitions which completely change the meaning of the iconic quote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Thomas Jefferson drafted the declaration in the summer of 1776, he almost certainly wasn\u2019t thinking of the joyful emotional state when listing happiness as a right. As political science professor James R. Rogers explained in First Things<\/em>, at that time happiness could also mean \u201cprosperity\u201d and \u201cwell-being in the broader sense.\u201d This sense encompassed \u201cphysical needs, but it also included a significant moral and religious dimension.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em><\/strong> to mean the physical and spiritual well-being of all citizens rather than an individual\u2019s fleeting pleasure<\/strong>. For instance, the Virginia Declaration of Rights\u2014written mainly by George Mason and adopted on June 12, 1776\u2014speaks of \u201cthe enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This broader meaning of happiness<\/em> is even clearer in later documents. The Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 notes that \u201cthe happiness of a people, and the good order and preservation of civil government, essentially depend upon piety, religion, and morality.\u201d Similarly, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 declares that \u201cReligion, morality, and knowledge\u201d are \u201cnecessary to good government and the happiness of mankind.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Story by Lorna Wallace One of the most famous quotes in American history comes from the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims that \u201cLife, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness\u201d are \u201cunalienable Rights.\u201d 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… Continue reading The Pursuit of Happiness: The True Meaning of the Misunderstood Phrase<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[178,179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin","category-marks-messages","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3832"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3840,"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3832\/revisions\/3840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tannerchurchofchrist.org\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}