In 1776, the colonies had been trying desperately to resolve differences with England. They had been trying frantically to get representation in Parliament, but to no avail. The argument was that they were represented in the House of Commons, albeit without anyone from the colonies there to voice the opinion of the colonies.
There simply was no way to get through to those in England, the desires of the colonies. Petitions to the king were largely unheard, and the representatives in the House of Lords who had financial interest in the colonies wanted to tighten the screws to get higher profits out of the colonies.
Times were desperate. The Continental Congress met and decided that a split from the mother land was the right thing to do. Out of that congress came the Declaration of Independence.
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.
These men, with this document opened the door for the end of slavery, women’s rights, and paved the way for the Constitution to come about. They also set the rally cry for the revolution. They did not go into this lightly or for transient causes. They felt that all efforts had been made to rectify the injustices that they felt were made by England. Once those means were exhausted, they had no choice but to split.
Some things which stand out to me about this document of freedom.
…All men are created equal… at the time of the writing of the Declaration, this meant a white, anglo-saxon, protestant male. By including this statement into the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers were setting the stage for the end of the slave trade, the emancipation of slaves, the women’s suffrage movement, and the Civil Rights movement. Not to mention countless other acts which have helped to increase equality in this country.
They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Whether you believe in God, Allah, Buddha, Ganesha you have been endowed or gifted with the rights of Life, Liberty, and your personal pursuit of Happiness by your Creator. The Founding Fathers believed in God and His divine influence, as well as his gifting to us these rights. We are all equal in the sight of God, have certain rights endowed to us, and that according to the Founders That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Our government wants us to think that our rights are endowed from them and not a divine source. Our rights do not come from a government, they come from God. Even if you do not choose to believe in a God, your rights are still something which you are born with inside of you. Our rights are not because of our government, but because each human is innately born with these rights. It is the ultimate of hubris for our representatives to believe that they are the sole source of our rights.
That is the purpose of our government. To secure our rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I would submit that for a very long time, the representatives which we for some reason keep electing have ignored their constituents, and are using their roles in government to promote their own pursuit of wealth.
When framing the Declaration of Independence, the founders listed grievances performed on them by the Crown. One of these was:
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.
Our own representatives are ignoring our petitions. They listen to the lobbyists with the deepest pockets. They create problems, just so they can “fix” them in ways which limit the power of “We the People” and raise their powers.
Because of the issues which we have with our representatives, the Founders in the Declaration provided us a means to overcome misrepresentation. it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. It is our duty and right which has been endowed by our Creator to appoint new guardians of our rights and freedoms.
I am not calling for violence, that is stupid. I am saying that we need to use our rights which we do have to throw off the oppression which our representatives have imposed upon us and elect men of honor, who will do what they say rather than pander to the crowd to get a vote.
So the next time that you have an election in your town, in your county, state or country that you do not waste your vote on the incumbent. Research the incumbents voting record, research the statements made by the incumbent, and then if their stance has been consistent in views which you hold then re-elect them. If not, then vote for the other guy. Then if that person does not hold true to their campaign promises, throw them out. Do not just vote blindly for the incumbent, because that is what is easiest. Do your homework on those you wish to represent you.
