What does 'endowed mean in the Declaration of Independence?

Answer 1

To be endowed infers that whatever is given is a gift. The term "endowment" is often used to describe the provision of a permanent fund or source of income. In the Declaration of Independence it states that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. These rights are a permanent source, gifted by the Creator and are available to all men. The statement "all men" was not intended to be limited only to the colonists. America was to be a grand experiment in which ALL MEN were recognized as free by endowment from a living Creator God, and regardless of port of origin. An endowment from a Creator is not something that men can do away with. Men can refuse to recognize the endowment, they can seek to usurp the endowment, but they cannot, by law, remove the endowment. Laws which would seek to do so, according to America's founding documents, would be null and void, thus they would not be law: they would be criminal. This fact is further strengthened by the use of the word "unalienable," which means something cannot to be separated, given away, or taken away. Finally, the clause in the Declaration says "among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." This is to certify that there are more rights "endowed" than were to be listed in this document. The Bill of Rights serves as testimony to this fact by laying out additional rights, or one may say that the Bill of Rights better defines those rights mention in the Declaration.

Answer 2

To be endowed infers that whatever is given is a gift. The term "endowment" is often used to describe the provision of a permanent fund or source of income. In the Declaration of Independence it states that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. These rights are a permanent source, gifted by the Creator and are available to all men. The statement "all men" was not intended to be limited only to the colonists. America was to be a grand experiment in which ALL MEN were recognized as free by endowment from a living Creator God, and regardless of port of origin. An endowment from a Creator is not something that men can do away with. Men can refuse to recognize the endowment, they can seek to usurp the endowment, but they cannot, by law, remove the endowment. Laws which would seek to do so, according to America's founding documents, would be null and void, thus they would not be law: they would be criminal. This fact is further strengthened by the use of the word "unalienable," which means something cannot to be separated, given away, or taken away. Finally, the clause in the Declaration says "among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." This is to certify that there are more rights "endowed" than were to be listed in this document. The Bill of Rights serves as testimony to this fact by laying out additional rights, or one may say that the Bill of Rights better defines those rights mention in the Declaration.