To start, the words mean the same thing. “Inalienable” has gained a stronger foothold in modern times, but both appear without distinction on the Merriam-Webster Dictionary website, which defines them as signifying that which is “incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred.”
The final version of the Declaration of Independence declares: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
But these rights weren’t always “unalienable.” In early drafts of the Declaration — in the handwriting of its primary author, Thomas Jefferson, as well as another writer, John Adams — our rights were “inalienable.” The quote as inscribed on the Jefferson Memorial in the nation’s capital, also says “inalienable.”
But the Declaration, as printed under the order of Congress, says “unalienable,” according to ushistory.org, a Web site of the nonprofit Independence Hall Association.
How did inalienable in early drafts turn to unalienable in the final Declaration?
Ushistory.org cites a footnote in “The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas” by Carl Lotus Becker, published 1922:
The Rough Draft reads “[inherent &] inalienable.” There is no indication that Congress changed “inalienable” to “unalienable”; but the latter form appears in the text in the rough Journal, in the corrected Journal, and in the parchment copy. John Adams, in making his copy of the Rough Draft, wrote ” unalienable.” Adams was one of the committee which supervised the printing of the text adopted by Congress, and it may have been at his suggestion that the change was made in printing. “Unalienable” may have been the more customary form in the eighteenth century.
If “life,” liberty and the pursuit of happiness are “Inalienable Rights,” how can we have abortion and death penalty?
Generally, liberty is distinctly differentiated from freedom in that freedom is primarily, if not exclusively, the ability to do as one wills and what one has the power to do; whereas liberty concerns the absence of arbitrary restraints and takes into account the rights of all involved. As such, the exercise of liberty is subject to capability and limited by the rights of others.
The pursuit of happiness is defined as a fundamental right mentioned in the Declaration of Independence to freely pursue joy and live life in a way that makes you happy, as long as you don’t do anything illegal or violate the rights of others.
Wow, if you have “Liberty” and “Pursuit of Happiness” as long as you don’t do anything illegal or violate the rights of others, that leaves a pretty wide range of behaviors.
What is interesting is the part in bold. Under this definition abortion and euthanasia should be illegal, as the right to life is explicitly stated in the Declaration, as that document is essentially our country's moral charter.
In support of your statement:
Jefferson used “inalienable” in the Declaration of Independence
Jefferson’s copy
http://memory.loc.gov/master/mss/mjm/27/0700/0743.jpg
Jefferson’s rough draft
http://memory.loc.gov/master/mss/mtj/mtj1/001/0500/0545.jpg
Both of which can be accessed through
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/DeclarInd.html
under the heading “The James Madison Papers” and “The Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress”
The engrossed version uses “unalienable”
What a beautiful day to discuss the Declaration of Independence; on the 225th anniversary of the Bill of Rights.
The Declaration of Independence was the golden apple surrounded by a silver frame; the Constitution.
A most interesting way to learn why Jefferson’s "inalienable" became "unalienable" is to watch a movie titled "1776".
