For those who are interested.

[sloasdaylight]

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

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.

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. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — 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. 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. 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, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That 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 Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

[hbarcat]

Hey, NO politics allowed!








Just joking.

Quite an extraordinary document, to say the least. May it continue to be a model for others.




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

[Chebass88]

Thanks for posting.

[Gard]

One of the most beautiful, moving, and important documents ever written.

No, THE most beautiful, moving, and important document ever written.

[Deluge Of Sound]

Bunch of nationalistic/dissenter/terrorist types if you ask me.

[MakiSupaStar]

Pure win.

[Johnny Crab]

That IS a great post.

Just want to find out who put ten word Trojan Horse(Article 1 Section 8) into the Constitution:

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes

[warwick.hoy]

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



Too bad our current populace is too lulled into it's false sense of security to heed these words today.

[MIJ-VI]

This is one of the most courageous documents ever drafted.

Its signatories knew they were inking their de facto death warrants.

Yet sign in defiance of THE world superpower of their time they did, each in turn, applying quill to parchment by the fragile glow of a candle quivering before the fury that was sure to follow.

"Manly firmness" indeed.

[jp58]

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

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



Too bad our current populace is too lulled into it's false sense of security to heed these words today.

True... But half of the people in our country don't even care enough to vote anymore, and really only care about things that directly affect them.

[Munjibunga]

Boy, they really ragged on the ol' king, huh?

[EdHunter]

Damn you! Damn you all to Hell you rotten, lead-bellied scalliwags!

Mark my words, we'll be back one day...

[MJ5150]

Originally Posted by sloasdaylight

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

So is this the guy we learned this from?

-Mike

[Mark Latimour]

"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.

I can't for the life of me see how the people who drafted this statement were, at the same time, owners of slaves. I apprecaite at the time, they didn't have the same attitudes to slavery that we do now, but the meaning of that statement has not changed that much over the last 240 odd years.

[blendermassacre]

Originally Posted by Mark Latimour

I can't for the life of me see how the people who drafted this statement were, at the same time, owners of slaves. I apprecaite at the time, they didn't have the same attitudes to slavery that we do now, but the meaning of that statement has not changed that much over the last 240 odd years.

not to mention the treatment of the native people of this country. After taking an intensive history class (American History to 1885), I felt ashamed for what our country has done to people that didn't deserve it. In there defense, all "men" being created equal meant all white, christian, land owning men. This, however, is no excuse for their actions for the first 200 years or so of this country's existance.

[sloasdaylight]

Originally Posted by Mark Latimour

I can't for the life of me see how the people who drafted this statement were, at the same time, owners of slaves. I apprecaite at the time, they didn't have the same attitudes to slavery that we do now, but the meaning of that statement has not changed that much over the last 240 odd years.

Thomas Jefferson purposely used those words when he was drafting The Declaration. The original words from John Locke were: "Life, Liberty, and Property" but the founders wanted one day to be done with slavery in this country, and knew that if it was worded that way, the slave holders would forever be able to point to the document and say "See? It's right here!"

[Mark Latimour]

Originally Posted by sloasdaylight

Thomas Jefferson purposely used those words when he was drafting The Declaration. The original words from John Locke were: "Life, Liberty, and Property" but the founders wanted one day to be done with slavery in this country, and knew that if it was worded that way, the slave holders would forever be able to point to the document and say "See? It's right here!"

The fact remains that Jefferson (and most of theo ther signers of the declaration) owned slaves at the time the signed at (and for some time afterwards). The point being that owning slaves at the same time as signing those words would be like Russia, Great Britain or the US signing a declaration now saying that they will not actively interfere with the GOvernments of soverign nations and then continuing to do exactly what they all do right now under the auspices of their forign intelligence services etc. ACtions speak louder than words and clearly their actions were inconsistent with those words.

Again, I appreciate that "it was a different time", but I honestly would love to know how they justified it internally in terms of agreeing to those specific words at the same time as owning slaves.

[jp58]

Originally Posted by Mark Latimour

I can't for the life of me see how the people who drafted this statement were, at the same time, owners of slaves. I apprecaite at the time, they didn't have the same attitudes to slavery that we do now, but the meaning of that statement has not changed that much over the last 240 odd years.

We still mistreat groups of people in this country to this day. We have regular discrimination, reverse discrimination, political correctness issues...

Not to mention how we still have to ask ourselves if gays are even people, and if they deserve equal rights.

[Gard]

Yes there were flaws within the individuals that crafted the document.

However, the document ITSELF was written so that the people could address any flaws within the system, and so they did.

No system of government will ever be perfect - however, so far, this one seems to be the best.

[jp58]

Originally Posted by Gard

Yes there were flaws within the individuals that crafted the document.

However, the document ITSELF was written so that the people could address any flaws within the system, and so they did.

No system of government will ever be perfect - however, so far, this one seems to be the best.

It was like the beginnings of a sports rule book. Written so that the basics of the game are understood, but open to new rules that protect safety and improve the game in general.