Declaration of Independence (United States)

The Declaration of Independence is the document in which the Thirteen Colonies declared themselves independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain and explained their justifications for doing so. It was ratified by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776; this anniversary is celebrated as Independence Day in the United States. A copy of the document is on display in the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The independence of the American colonies was recognized by Great Britain on September 3, 1783, by the Treaty of Paris.

Annotated text of the Declaration

The Declaration of Independence has four sections: a preamble or overview, a statement of principles upon which the Congress asserts that a nation should be based, a list of grievances or failures of the British government to abide by the principles of an equitable government, and a conclusion that the United States is thereby absolved from allegiance to the British Crown:

Related Topics:
Preamble - Principle - Grievances - Conclusion

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Preamble

The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies In CONGRESS, July 4 1776

Related Topics:
July 4 - 1776

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The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America,

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When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Related Topics:
Laws of Nature - Nature's God

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Principles

We hold these truths to be self-evident,

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:~Asserts that proof of the following statements is inherent in human nature and available for all to see

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that all men are created equal,

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:~Asserts that everyone has equal charge to control the destiny of their society and the fate of their own lives

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that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,

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:~Asserts that some rights cannot be taken from mankind

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that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

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:~Asserts that self-preservation and the desire to benefit self and society as one sees fit are a part of human nature that cannot be relinquished

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That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

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:~Asserts that each person who is under the stewardship of a government must consent to the power of that government in order for it to be just and consistent with humanity's aforementioned unalienable rights.

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That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

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:~After establishing that the necessary protection of aforementioned rights is the root of government, the signers assert that defense of these rights naturally takes precedence over the constructs of government law when the two conflict.

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Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

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:~Asserts that people will not overthrow their governments just to make their lives more comfortable

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But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty,

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:~Asserts that people must overthrow their governments when a conflict exists between their aforementioned unalienable rights and the government

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to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

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:~The signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence culminate their statement of principles, predicated by the above "self-evident" assertions, that our humanity requires us to throw off institutions trying to usurp our power of government by consent of the governed.

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Grievances

After establishing the principles under which a stable nation can exist, the signers list several examples of how the British Crown failed to abide by these principles. Some historians claim that many of the grievances are exaggerated propaganda (such as the "swarms of officers" in truth referring to about fifty men ordered to prevent smuggling), but that they are generally an accurate portrayal of royal crimes against the higher laws of human nature established in the statement of principles.

Related Topics:
Grievances - Propaganda

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Conclusion

The signers assert that (since conditions exist under which people must change their government, and the British have produced such conditions) the colonies must necessarily throw off political ties with the British Crown and become sovereign. The signers declare that:

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:...these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Connection between them and the State of Great-Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT STATES may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of the divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

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