"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" is a well-known phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence. The phrase gives three examples of the "unalienable rights" which the Declaration says has been given to all human beings by their Creator, and for which governments are created to protect.

Origin and phrasing

The United States Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson, edited by the Committee of Five, then further edited and adopted by the Committee of the Whole of the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The second section of text in the Declaration contains the phrase.

Jefferson's "original Rough draught" is on exhibit in the Library of Congress. This version was used by Julian Boyd to create a transcript of Jefferson's draft, which reads:

The Committee of Five edited Jefferson's draft. Their version survived further edits by the whole Congress intact, and reads:

A number of possible sources or inspirations for Jefferson's use of the phrase in the Declaration of Independence have been identified, although scholars debate the extent to which any one of them actually influenced Jefferson. Jefferson declared himself an Epicurean during his lifetime: this is a philosophical doctrine that teaches the pursuit of happiness and proposes autarchy, which translates as self-rule, self-sufficiency or freedom. The greatest disagreement comes between those who suggest the phrase was drawn from John Locke and those who identify some other source.

The Pursuit of Happiness may refer to:

In films:

In music:

In books:

"Pursuit of Happiness" is a song by American recording artist Kid Cudi, released January 25, 2010, as the third single from his debut studio album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day (2009). The song was produced by American rocktronica duo Ratatat and features vocals from American neo-psychedelic act, MGMT.

Background

On the album, the track is titled "Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare)", following the album's dream sequence. The final version of the song was premiered on September 4, 2009, on the DJ Semtex BBC Radio 1 show. The song made its US television debut on the Late Show with David Letterman on September 11, 2009. Cudi later performed the song on September 23, 2009, on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The song was featured during a Vitamin Water commercial in 2010, in LeBron James of the Miami Heat, narrates and stars in. The song was later included on the soundtrack to the 2011 film Fright Night.

Music videos

The first music video released, directed by Brody Baker and produced by Josh Hartnett, displays Kid Cudi at a party. While everyone is having a good time, the whole party goes into a slow-motion state. Ratatat does not appear in the video, however MGMT member Ben Goldwasser does make an appearance. Other cameo appearances include Cudi's former GOOD Music label-mate Consequence, along with fellow rappers Johnny Polygon and Drake.