The Port Huron Statement: Liberty at the Expense of Freedom

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The Sharon Statement, published in 1960, and the Port Huron Statement, published in 1962, attempt to defend the liberty of the citizens of the United States. Both the Sharon Statement and the Port Huron Statement cite the Declaration of Independence. Both documents are penned by young people. Both documents present an opinion on how the United States government should approach the future of the country. Despite these 'similarities' between the two documents, the statements reach separate conclusions as to how the United States should continue to protect liberty. While both statements appear to uphold the Declaration, it is the Sharon Statement, and not the Port Huron Statement, which supports the Founder's intentions for the United States' government. The Port Huron Statement deviates from the original documents and proposes an expansion of the government in order to protect individual freedom; it suggest publicizing private affairs to protect liberty, a paradox it creates even as it names paradoxes in the United States. The Sharon Statement upholds the integrity of the Declaration and the Founders by adhering to the Constitution and not stepping past the bounds of government it lays out in its structure. The Port Huron Statement, if applied to United States policies, would destroy the liberty carefully established by the Founders, laid out in the Constitution, and defended throughout American history. The Sharon Statement quotes the Declaration of Independence and follows its definition of government to describe how the United States should proceed in its affairs. The Sharon Statement begins by stating that its intention is to “affirm certain eternal truths”, which is similar to the Declaration's preamble, which states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” The Sharon Statement models its organization as well as its content after the founding document of
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