Declaration of Independence 1

The $nani#ous !eclaration of the

Thirteen $nited States of %#erica
hen, in the course of human eents, it !ecomes
necessary for one people to dissole the political
!onds "hich hae connected them "ith another,
and to assume among the po"ers of the earth, the separate
and e#ual station to "hich the la"s of nature and of nature$s
%od entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of man&ind
re#uires that they should declare the causes "hich impel them
to the separation'
(
(e hold these truths to !e self)eident, that all men are
created e#ual, that they are endo"ed !y their Creator "ith
certain unaliena!le rights, that among these are life, li!erty
and the pursuit of happiness' *hat to secure these rights,
goernments are instituted among men, deriing their +ust
po"ers from the consent of the goerned' *hat "heneer any
form of goernment !ecomes destructie to these ends, it is
the right of the people to alter or to a!olish it, and to institute
ne" goernment, laying its foundation on such principles and
organi,ing its po"ers in such form, as to them shall seem
most li&ely to effect their safety and happiness' -rudence,
indeed, "ill dictate that goernments long esta!lished should
not !e changed for light and transient causes. and accordingly
all e/perience hath sho"n that man&ind are more disposed to
suffer, "hile eils are suffera!le, than to right themseles !y
a!olishing the forms to "hich they are accustomed' 0ut "hen
a long train of a!uses and usurpations, pursuing inaria!ly
the same o!+ect einces a design to reduce them under
a!solute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to thro"
off such goernment, and to proide ne" guards for their
future security' 1 2uch has !een the patient sufferance of
these colonies. and such is no" the necessity "hich
constrains them to alter their former systems of goernment'
*he history of the present 3ing of %reat 0ritain is a history
of repeated in+uries and usurpations, all haing in direct
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o!+ect the esta!lishment of an a!solute tyranny oer these
states' *o proe this, let facts !e su!mitted to a candid "orld'
5e has refused his assent to la"s, the most "holesome and
necessary for the pu!lic good'
5e has for!idden his goernors to pass la"s of immediate
and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation
till his assent should !e o!tained. and "hen so suspended, he
has utterly neglected to attend to them'
5e has refused to pass other la"s for the accommodation
of large districts of people, unless those people "ould
relin#uish the right of representation in the legislature, a right
inestima!le to them and formida!le to tyrants only'
5e has called together legislatie !odies at places unusual,
uncomforta!le, and distant from the depository of their pu!lic
records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into
compliance "ith his measures'
5e has dissoled representatie houses repeatedly, for
opposing "ith manly firmness his inasions on the rights of
the people'
5e has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to
cause others to !e elected. "here!y the legislatie po"ers,
incapa!le of annihilation, hae returned to the people at large
for their e/ercise. the state remaining in the meantime
e/posed to all the dangers of inasion from "ithout, and
conulsions "ithin'
5e has endeaored to preent the population of these
states. for that purpose o!structing the la"s for naturali,ation
of foreigners. refusing to pass others to encourage their
migration hither, and raising the conditions of ne"
appropriations of lands'
5e has o!structed the administration of +ustice, !y refusing
his assent to la"s for esta!lishing +udiciary po"ers'
5e has made +udges dependent on his "ill alone, for the
tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their
salaries'
5e has erected a multitude of ne" offices, and sent hither
s"arms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their
su!stance'
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5e has &ept among us, in times of peace, standing armies
"ithout the consent of our legislature'
5e has affected to render the military independent of and
superior to ciil po"er'
5e has com!ined "ith others to su!+ect us to a +urisdiction
foreign to our constitution, and unac&no"ledged !y our la"s.
giing his assent to their acts of pretended legislation7
8or #uartering large !odies of armed troops among us7
8or protecting them, !y moc& trial, from punishment for
any murders "hich they should commit on the inha!itants of
these states7
8or cutting off our trade "ith all parts of the "orld7
8or imposing ta/es on us "ithout our consent7
8or depriing us in many cases, of the !enefits of trial !y
+ury7
8or transporting us !eyond seas to !e tried for pretended
offenses7
8or a!olishing the free system of 9nglish la"s in a
neigh!oring proince, esta!lishing therein an ar!itrary
goernment, and enlarging its !oundaries so as to render it at
once an e/ample and fit instrument for introducing the same
a!solute rule in these colonies7
8or ta&ing a"ay our charters, a!olishing our most alua!le
la"s, and altering fundamentally the forms of our
goernments7
8or suspending our o"n legislatures, and declaring
themseles inested "ith po"er to legislate for us in all cases
"hatsoeer'
5e has a!dicated goernment here, !y declaring us out of
his protection and "aging "ar against us'
5e has plundered our seas, raaged our coasts, !urned our
to"ns, and destroyed the lies of our people'
5e is at this time transporting large armies of foreign
mercenaries to complete the "or&s of death, desolation and
tyranny, already !egun "ith circumstances of cruelty and
perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most !ar!arous ages, and
totaly un"orth the head of a ciili,ed nation'
5e has constrained our fello" citi,ens ta&en captie on the
Declaration of Independence 4
high seas to !ear arms against their country, to !ecome the
e/ecutioners of their friends and !rethren, or to fall
themseles !y their hands'
5e has e/cited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has
endeaored to !ring on the inha!itants of our frontiers, the
merciless Indian saages, "hose &no"n rule of "arfare, is
undistinguished destruction of all ages, se/es and conditions'
In eery stage of these oppressions "e hae petitioned for
redress in the most hum!le terms7 our repeated petitions hae
!een ans"ered only !y repeated in+ury' A prince, "hose
character is thus mar&ed !y eery act "hich may define a
tyrant, is unfit to !e the ruler of a free people'
:or hae "e !een "anting in attention to our 0ritish
!rethren' (e hae "arned them from time to time of attempts
!y their legislature to e/tend an un"arranta!le +urisdiction
oer us' (e hae reminded them of the circumstances of our
emigration and settlement here' (e hae appealed to their
natie +ustice and magnanimity, and "e hae con+ured them
!y the ties of our common &indred to disao" these
usurpations, "hich, "ould ineita!ly interrupt our
connections and correspondence' (e must, therefore,
ac#uiesce in the necessity, "hich denounces our separation,
and hold them, as "e hold the rest of man&ind, enemies in
"ar, in peace friends'
(e, therefore, the representaties of the ;nited 2tates of
America, in %eneral Congress, assem!led, appealing to the
2upreme Judge of the "orld for the rectitude of our
intentions, do, in the name, and !y the authority of the good
people of these colonies, solemnly pu!lish and declare, that
these united colonies are, and of right ought to !e free and
independent states. that they are a!soled from all allegiance
to the 0ritish Cro"n, and that all political connection
!et"een them and the state of %reat 0ritain, is and ought to
!e totally dissoled. and that as free and independent states,
they hae full po"er to leey "ar, conclude peace, contract
alliances, esta!lish commerce, and to do all other acts and
things "hich independent states may of right do' And for the
support of this declaration, "ith a firm reliance on the
Declaration of Independence <
protection of Diine -roidence, "e mutually pledge to each
other our lies, our fortunes and our sacred honor'