People have their own vision of the government they envision for their people. Thomas Jefferson was the president of the United States and ruled under a monarch. Jefferson could not tolerate abuse from a monarch, so he rebelled against the British crown. In 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and declared that the colonies were free from British rule. Before becoming the author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson had established himself “as an ardent republican and revolutionary” (Jacobus 77). Jacobus states that Jefferson is “one of the most versatile Americans of any generation” (Jacobus 78). In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson and the Founding Fathers envisioned a government that would govern the people and the people would be free. People must be governed with rights, Jefferson implies that it is the government's duty to guide and protect the people, therefore he believes that the government's obligation to the individual is more important than the individual's obligation to the state. It is the obligation of the state to give its citizens due process rights. Under monarch rule, colonists were convicted before a trial, but in most cases there was no trial. In the colonies, colonists were misrepresented by lawyers because they were ignorant compared to English lawyers. The British authorities did not provide equal laws for the colonists, so if they were falsely accused they were punished. Furthermore, Jefferson states, “For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of a trial by jury” (82). The colonists were not tried fairly, and Jefferson believed that a government should give its citizens a fair trial. Every citizen should have equal judgment because the... middle of paper... keeps the people safe, and it is the people's obligation to obey the laws established for them. He envisioned a government that would not abuse people's rights. The government can control the people, but the people have a say in how the government should govern them. His vision was to allow people to be governed, yet free. If it were not for Jefferson and his Declaration of Independence, there would be no democratic government. The United States would not be what it is today, a government for free people. Works Cited Jacobbus, Lee A. Ed. A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. Print. Jefferson, Thomas. “The Declaration of Independence.” A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. 8th ed. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2010. 77-83. Press.