"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is one of the most famous phrases in the United States Declaration of Independence. It is listed as one of the "unalienable rights" of man.

Phrasing

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The phrase is based on the writings of John Locke, who expressed a similar concept of "life, liberty, and estate (or property)". While Locke said that "no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions", Adam Smith coined the phrase "life liberty and the pursuit of property" although that phrase has often been incorrectly attributed to Locke.

This tripartite motto is comparable to “liberté, égalité, fraternité” (liberty, equality, fraternity) in France or “peace, order and good government” in Canada.

The phrase can also be found in Chapter III, Article 13 of the 1947 Constitution of Japan.

An alternative phrase "life, liberty and property", is found in the Declaration of Colonial Rights, a resolution of the First Continental Congress.

Pursuit of happiness

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The phrase "pursuit of happiness" has popped up in at least one Supreme Court case, Loving v. Virginia, which focused on an anti-miscegenation statute. Justice Warren wrote:

The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men.

It is worth noting that the declaration does not suggest a right to happiness itself; merely a right to pursue happiness. Thus, nobody can claim their rights are being violated simply because they are unhappy.

Further reading

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• Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness: Documents in American History. P. Scott Corbett and Ronald Naugle (ISBN 0072839996)
• Independence 1776. A. J. Langguth.

Mottos