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The Declaration of Independence ...

Tom McAndrew

Well-Known Member
May 29, 2001
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It's somewhat of a tradition for me to post the words of the Declaration of Independence on this board on July 4th. Alas, my schedule is pretty chaotic for the 4th, so this year I'm going to post the words on the 3rd.

The Declaration of Independence is, IMHO, the 2nd most important document in the history of the US. To me, the US Constitution is more important.

I've read more books than you can imagine on the creation of the Declaration, on each member of the committee that was charged with writing the Declaration, and on the members of the Second Continental Congress that approved and signed the Declaration.

As you enjoy your holiday celebration, I ask that you spend just a few minutes reflecting on the words of the Declaration, and on what the men of the Second Continental Congress created in that hot summer in Philadelphia, back in 1776.




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 harrass 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 benefits 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 Brittish 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.
 
I was having trouble posting the signers in the original post in this thread. Here is my attempt to post them in a separate post in the thread.


The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:

Column 1
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton

Column 2
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton

Column 3
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
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

Column 4
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

Column 5
New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark

Column 6
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts:
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 Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton
 
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You can click on the document and zoom in to view individual sections.

Declaration_of_Independence_1776_hirez.jpg
 
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Thank you, Tom. While I was reading the comments on the recent death of the Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton, I considered that despite the wide range of political opinions on this board we posters here have much, much more in common than we have differences. That's very gratifying to consider. God Bless America.
 
Abbreviated to more precisely reflect the current situation of conflict between the PSU BOT and the University:

Correspondence between Senator Yudichak and the PSU Scoundrels:

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

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. 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

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 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 harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

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

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

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


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.

We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. 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."

__________________________________________________

At its core......our current plight is analogous to the situation in the summer of 1776.
 
Thank you, Tom. While I was reading the comments on the recent death of the Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton, I considered that despite the wide range of political opinions on this board we posters here have much, much more in common than we have differences. That's very gratifying to consider. God Bless America.
Very nicely said Jim.
 
I was having trouble posting the signers in the original post in this thread. Here is my attempt to post them in a separate post in the thread.


The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:

Column 1
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton

Column 2
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton

Column 3
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
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

Column 4
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

Column 5
New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark

Column 6
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts:
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 Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton
Short clip from the movie "1776"...signing the Declaration.
 
It's worth a mention that the resolution for independence was voted on by The U.S. Congress on July 2nd. I believe it the took a few days to prepare the formal document and begin collecting signatures (a process that likely lasted until late August)
 
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The eloquence of this document is breathtaking. It was the age of communicating by letter. By the written word. This eloquence is lost in the age of Twitter, Facebook, and video news. Even Internet news is rife with grammatical errors, misspellings, and factual inaccuracies. Thanks Tom.
 
It is, in your humble opinion, the 2nd most important document? Did I read that correctly, Tom?

Greater than "Common Sense"? Greater than the 10 Ammendments (aka Bill of Rights)? Really, Tom?

I know you have a disdain for Thomas Paine. But, without him, there is no revolution.

And, without Madison convincing others that The Constitution didn't go far enough, we'd be living in a much different America, today.

But, you, like all Americans, are entitled to your (ahem) humble opinion.

Good day, kind sir. Happy 4th.
 
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After one reads that, and with the knowledge of the great men responsible for our country's birth, it saddens me to see how badly we've regressed to leadership.
From icons like Jefferson, Adams, Hancock, Washington, etc...
And now we have Obama, Clinton, Christie, Trump...
:(
 
After one reads that, and with the knowledge of the great men responsible for our country's birth, it saddens me to see how badly we've regressed to leadership.
From icons like Jefferson, Adams, Hancock, Washington, etc...
And now we have Obama, Clinton, Christie, Trump...
:(

Amen, brother.
 
After one reads that, and with the knowledge of the great men responsible for our country's birth, it saddens me to see how badly we've regressed to leadership.
From icons like Jefferson, Adams, Hancock, Washington, etc...
And now we have Obama, Clinton, Christie, Trump...
:(

keep in mind, our Founding Fathers are great men through the lens of history. at the time, they were deeply flawed people, heavily criticized by their detractors, and capable of some fairly heinous things in their personal lives.
 
Coolest name on the Declaration... Button Gwinnett from Georgia, who died in 1777 in a duel.
4727.jpg
 
"Under God, the American people owe their liberty to Thomas Paine more than to any other man."
------------George Washington

 
It wasn't signed by karen peetz and ken frazier?
No, but they did surrender all Continental Armies south of Bellefonte, paid reparations to the Tories, and tried to fire George Washington, citing a lack of leadership and saying he had created a "revolutionary culture" in the colonies.
surrendering-emoticon-animated-white-waving-flag.gif
 
Last edited:
After one reads that, and with the knowledge of the great men responsible for our country's birth, it saddens me to see how badly we've regressed to leadership.
From icons like Jefferson, Adams, Hancock, Washington, etc...
And now we have Obama, Clinton, Christie, Trump...
:(
How far we have fallen
 
I was having trouble posting the signers in the original post in this thread. Here is my attempt to post them in a separate post in the thread.


The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:

Column 1
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton

Column 2
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton

Column 3
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
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

Column 4
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

Column 5
New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark

Column 6
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts:
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 Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton
I was having trouble posting the signers in the original post in this thread. Here is my attempt to post them in a separate post in the thread.


The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:

Column 1
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton

Column 2
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton

Column 3
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
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

Column 4
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

Column 5
New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark

Column 6
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts:
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 Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton
There are some names missing
 
There are some names missing

Not sure what you mean. There are 56 names in the post. In some early printings of the Declaration, Charles Thomson, who was the secretary of the Continental Congress but not a delegate, is shown as a signee.
 
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July 4th is a unique BWI tradition. I look forward to Tom sharing his knowledge of the events and documents surrounding our great country's formation and associated founding documents. I read it closely and seem to learn something new every year. Great job to Tom and the others who ask great questions and know/contribute other supplementary tidbits.

Probably deserving of a separate post, I will inquire later what everyone has planned for tomorrow/ this weekend, especially food wise.

That said...Happy Independence Day albeit a bit premature.
 
July 4th is a unique BWI tradition. I look forward to Tom sharing his knowledge of the events and documents surrounding our great country's formation and associated founding documents. I read it closely and seem to learn something new every year. Great job to Tom and the others who ask great questions and know/contribute other supplementary tidbits.

Probably deserving of a separate post, I will inquire later what everyone has planned for tomorrow/ this weekend, especially food wise.

That said...Happy Independence Day albeit a bit premature.
LOL, indeed. I've grown to love this board's idiosyncrasies.
 
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This Jean Ferris work (1900) is my favorite painting of the writing of the Declaration.
Writing_the_Declaration_of_Independence_1776_cph.3g09904.jpg
 
let's not forget the contributions the French made to our Independence . . . w/o Lafayette, we may be having crumpets and tea right now. :D
 
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It is, in your humble opinion, the 2nd most important document? Did I read that correctly, Tom?

Yes, you appear to have read correctly what I posted.

Greater than "Common Sense"? Greater than the 10 Ammendments (aka Bill of Rights)? Really, Tom?

I'm stunned that you'd even put Common Sense in the same discussion. Most people can quote some aspects of the Declaration, particularly the second paragraph. Ask 100 people for their favorite line in Common Sense -- unless you run into someone that specializes in Rev War history, or Thomas Paine, I doubt you'll find anyone that could quote anything from Common Sense.

Also, what part of "To me, the US Constitution is more important" did you not understand in my original post? The Bill of Rights are a part of the US Constitution.

I know you have a disdain for Thomas Paine. But, without him, there is no revolution.

Your second sentence assumes quite a bit. I'm not going to get into a long debate over whether the Revolution occurs without Common Sense, but suffice it to say that I disagree with your claim.

As for my feelings about Paine, I think I look at his entire life, and not just his efforts pre-Rev War. Read up on what he did after Common Sense, and you might modify your opinion of Paine.

And, without Madison convincing others that The Constitution didn't go far enough, we'd be living in a much different America, today.

Madison is one of my favorites of the Founding Fathers. I never tire of reading a book about him, and there are a couple of new ones that recently came out that I look forward to reading. However, you seem to be confused about what he did or did not do. He was not in favor of the Bill of Rights, which you are trumpeting above, though he did end up backing the early amendments as he came to see them as a necessary means to passing the Constitution.
 
Thanks for posting this Tom. Reading the Declaration and then reading the names of the men who risked everything for the country they loved is an almost overwhelming experience.
 
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It's somewhat of a tradition for me to post the words of the Declaration of Independence on this board on July 4th. Alas, my schedule is pretty chaotic for the 4th, so this year I'm going to post the words on the 3rd.

The Declaration of Independence is, IMHO, the 2nd most important document in the history of the US. To me, the US Constitution is more important.

I've read more books than you can imagine on the creation of the Declaration, on each member of the committee that was charged with writing the Declaration, and on the members of the Second Continental Congress that approved and signed the Declaration.

As you enjoy your holiday celebration, I ask that you spend just a few minutes reflecting on the words of the Declaration, and on what the men of the Second Continental Congress created in that hot summer in Philadelphia, back in 1776.




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 harrass 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 benefits 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 Brittish 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.
Can you imagine the cahones it took to hit the send button?
 
It's worth a mention that the resolution for independence was voted on by The U.S. Congress on July 2nd. I believe it the took a few days to prepare the formal document and begin collecting signatures (a process that likely lasted until late August)

Some clarifications on the above, which you got correct in the main.

On July 2nd, the Second Continental Congress voted on Richard Henry Lee's motion for independence. 12 of the 13 delegations approved the motion. New York's delegation did not vote yes or no -- they had not been authorized by New York's assembly to cast votes on this issue.

Once Lee's motion was passed, then the delegates spent the 3rd and the 4th debating the Declaration version that had been drafted by the "Committee of Five" (Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Ben Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston.) The draft version was primarily the work of Jefferson, with small edits from the Committee members.

On the 4th the Second Continental Congress approved the final version. At that point they wanted to get the word out to the colonies. This was primarily done via broadsides that were printed by John Dunlap, a printer in Philadelphia.

In terms of the actual final document, the Congress waited for New York's delegation to receive authorization. This was received on July 9, 1776. After that, it took about 2 weeks for a clear copy of the Declaration to be written on parchment.

The closest thing to an actual signing of the "original" document took place on Aug. 2. If I recall correctly, 51 of the 56 signees put their name to the document on that date. The remaining 5 did so over the coming days/weeks.

Two delegates, John Dickinson of Pennsylvania, and Robert R. Livingston of New York, never did sign the official Declaration of Independence.
 
Thanks for posting it again Tom. Every time I read it I marvel at its eloquence...
 
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Tom you're a great American! thank you for posting the Declaration. I am sadden that some schools will not acknowledge the D of I. It is a great document. I am also sadden that the third branch of the union has clearly disregarded the Constitution and legislate from the bench which is clearly not their right.
 
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Some clarifications on the above, which you got correct in the main.

On July 2nd, the Second Continental Congress voted on Richard Henry Lee's motion for independence. 12 of the 13 delegations approved the motion. New York's delegation did not vote yes or no -- they had not been authorized by New York's assembly to cast votes on this issue.

Once Lee's motion was passed, then the delegates spent the 3rd and the 4th debating the Declaration version that had been drafted by the "Committee of Five" (Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Ben Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston.) The draft version was primarily the work of Jefferson, with small edits from the Committee members.

On the 4th the Second Continental Congress approved the final version. At that point they wanted to get the word out to the colonies. This was primarily done via broadsides that were printed by John Dunlap, a printer in Philadelphia.

In terms of the actual final document, the Congress waited for New York's delegation to receive authorization. This was received on July 9, 1776. After that, it took about 2 weeks for a clear copy of the Declaration to be written on parchment.

The closest thing to an actual signing of the "original" document took place on Aug. 2. If I recall correctly, 51 of the 56 signees put their name to the document on that date. The remaining 5 did so over the coming days/weeks.

Two delegates, John Dickinson of Pennsylvania, and Robert R. Livingston of New York, never did sign the official Declaration of Independence.

Tom... this board could raise a ton of money for charity if we raffled off a "Dinner with Tom". I know I would invest heavily.

I hope you having a great weekend.
 
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One of Thomas Paine's most famous quotes (from The Crisis)

“THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated”
 
Some clarifications on the above, which you got correct in the main.

On July 2nd, the Second Continental Congress voted on Richard Henry Lee's motion for independence. 12 of the 13 delegations approved the motion. New York's delegation did not vote yes or no -- they had not been authorized by New York's assembly to cast votes on this issue.

Once Lee's motion was passed, then the delegates spent the 3rd and the 4th debating the Declaration version that had been drafted by the "Committee of Five" (Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Ben Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston.) The draft version was primarily the work of Jefferson, with small edits from the Committee members.

On the 4th the Second Continental Congress approved the final version. At that point they wanted to get the word out to the colonies. This was primarily done via broadsides that were printed by John Dunlap, a printer in Philadelphia.

In terms of the actual final document, the Congress waited for New York's delegation to receive authorization. This was received on July 9, 1776. After that, it took about 2 weeks for a clear copy of the Declaration to be written on parchment.

The closest thing to an actual signing of the "original" document took place on Aug. 2. If I recall correctly, 51 of the 56 signees put their name to the document on that date. The remaining 5 did so over the coming days/weeks.

Two delegates, John Dickinson of Pennsylvania, and Robert R. Livingston of New York, never did sign the official Declaration of Independence.
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Tom; any truth to the story that the original document had the words Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Property and was changed to Happiness because of a disagreement over slavery? Slaves were property then and anti slavery delegates didn't want to ok slavery, as the story goes.
 
Tom; any truth to the story that the original document had the words Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Property and was changed to Happiness because of a disagreement over slavery? Slaves were property then and anti slavery delegates didn't want to ok slavery, as the story goes.

Spin Meister, there are probably more books and articles about the second paragraph of the Declaration than any other section of it. Historians and others have put a great deal of time and effort into how "pursuit of happiness" made it into the Declaration.

I've read many of the books and articles. Some have made the claim that you mentioned, but as best as I can tell that's not what happened in the Committee of Five, or when the draft was considered by the full Continental Congress.

My favorite book on the creation of the Declaration is Pauline Maier's American Scripture. In the book Maier looks at most of the previous books and articles about the creation of the Declaration, and tries to navigate through the competing claims to arrive at the truth.

Jefferson borrowed from a number of previous writings when composing the draft of the Declaration. One of the documents he borrowed from was what George Mason (and a committee) had drafted as Virginia's Declaration of Rights (VDOR)

Mason's VDOR included:

"that all men are born equally free and independent"

Jefferson modified this to:

"all men are created equal and independent" in an early draft. He further refined this to "all men are created equal."

Mason's VDOR included:

all men had "certain inherent natural rights, of which they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity."

Jefferson modified this to state that from their equal creation all me derived:

"rights inherent & inalienable"

Jefferson then moved the noun so that it read:

"inherent & inalienable rights"

Mason's VDOR had listed among the rights:

"the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety"

In a stroke a genius (if I may make a comment), Jefferson initially shortened this to:

"the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness"

and then in a further edit Jefferson tweaked it to:

"life, liberty, & the pursuit of happiness"

As Maier states, Mason's VDOR brought more clarity to what was being claimed, but that "Jefferson perhaps sacrificed clarity of meaning for grace of language." She goes on to state that Jefferson's rewriting of Mason's words "produced a more memorable statement of the same content."
 
Tom; thanks for the answer. I did some reading today on the 'net. Seems that several writers over time used some form of that language. And 'happiness' as used here is more than "Don't worry be happy" thinking as we know it but as not only the right to live a life in pleasurable pursuits but as a life of fulfillment, including effort spend to improve society and the lives of others.


If, in reality, courage and a heart devoted to the good of mankind are the constituents of human felicity, the kindness which is done infers a happiness in the person from whom it proceeds, not in him on whom it is bestowed; and the greatest good which men possessed of fortitude and generosity can procure to their fellow creatures is a participation of this happy character. If this be the good of the individual, it is likewise that of mankind; and virtue no longer imposes a task by which we are obliged to bestow upon others that good from which we ourselves refrain; but supposes, in the highest degree, as possessed by ourselves, that state of felicity which we are required to promote in the world.


Adam Ferguson, An Essay on the History of Civil Society[22]


In that form, 'happiness' broadens the meaning substantially......while I had thought it weakened it! The meaning of words change over time and even subtle changes can have substantial impact when used in such important documents.

And such thinking had been written about for some time, according to this Wikipedia article;

In 1689, Locke argued in his Two Treatises of Government that political society existed for the sake of protecting "property", which he defined as a person's "life, liberty, and estate".[7] In A Letter Concerning Toleration, he wrote that the magistrate's power was limited to preserving a person's "civil interest", which he described as "life, liberty, health, and indolency of body; and the possession of outward things".[8] He declared in his Essay Concerning Human Understanding that "the highest perfection of intellectual nature lies in a careful and constant pursuit of true and solid happiness".[9]

Another aspect is that Jefferson may have altered the phrase to meet the metrics of the tripartate motto. Seems over the millennia that it has been recognized that a three word phrase seems to have an almost musical, rhythmic timing that amplifies it meaning. Wonder if he knew when he wrote it that phrase that it would become the hallmark of the DoI.

PS BTW, you may call me Spin. ;)
 
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