More than just a Declaration of Independence

July 4 is a day of celebration in the United States, it is the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, even though the actual vote for Independence took place two days before (July 2, 1776: The United States decides to Declare Independence). It is noted as the day the United States declared it will decide its own course, make its own rules, govern itself and would no longer hold or honor any allegiances to Britain or its crown. This was done with a magnificent piece of work written primarily by Thomas Jefferson with the assistance of  Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston and Roger Sherman (June 11, 1776 the Committee of Five), the Declaration of Independence.

Besides declaring, “That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES” dissolving the bonds between the United States and Great Britain, the Declaration states so much more, on the nature or power, the role of government and rights of the people. These declared principles in regards to each, will have a direct influence on the structure and power in the Articles of Confederation and Constitution (Declaration of Independence influence on the Constitution).

The Declaration of Independence is comprised of four sections, each centered around a theme or subject in regards to political power, right or abuse.

Section 1; The preamble

In the first part the preamble, the Declarations states the necessity of the document or more specifically the action being taken.

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.

The purpose is clearly stated in this opening paragraph, that during the course of society (human events) at times becomes necessary to one society to separate itself from another nation, and assume their own equal role in the world, which are inherent to all nations (laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them). Finally, out of respect to the opinion of all, requires justification in their decision of separation to join the nations as the world as an equal.

Section 2; Justification

The second part of the Declaration of Independence, starts of the justification by going into the organization and structure of power between God or Nature, the People and Government.

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 shown 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.

The beginning part declares certain truths exist that are or should be known to all, they require no explanation, justification, or explanation in supporting their existence (self-evident). The reason these truths that are self-evident, come from man’s creator (endowed by their creator), they are the natural laws that apply to all. In addition to be natural to all, they also cannot be separated from a person or society (unalienable). These truths or rights cannot be taken by another entity and claimed as theirs, these natural rights are the sole property of those whom initially owned them given to them by their creator. The first truth listed is that all men are created equal, none has a station superior or inferior to another by virtue of birth right, all are equal. The other self evident truths listed are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but the declaration is careful to not state these as the only truths, but rather are just a sample (that among these (unalienable rights)). [John Locke: What influenced the Founding Fathers: The Two Treatises of Government]

At this point the Declaration of Independence has stated that in the natural course of societies, at times one group must break away from another to control its own destiny. The beginning of the justification for this, is based on the natural and inseparable rights of man. The Declaration now goes into how the role of a government fits in with this premise.

The role of government is straightforwardly stated, “to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men”. This simple statement implies the primary purpose of government is to secure the unalienable rights or truths. This sentence also states they are instituted, meaning established or created by a separate power. The power that institutes government is the governed themselves, “deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”. The Declaration of Independence in this short sentence declares the rightful order of power between the Creator, the People and Government.

1. The Creator; either God or Nature itself, endows the people with unalienable rights
2. The People;  they consent to and institute a government, and are the possessor of the unalienable rights.
3. Government; derives it power from the consent of the governed (the people), with the primary purpose to secure the unalienable rights of the people.

Following this the Declaration goes on to state if a government does not fulfill or becomes destructive to these obligations, “it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government”. The premise of this ties back to the order of power stated earlier, that the people are the primary and natural possessor of power of government, and implies it is their right to abolish or alter that government, in the case of the United States, it was to alter its relationship with Great Britain by severing all ties with it, and abolish that form of government in the United States. This is followed by explaining it is also the right of the people to establish a new government, that best protects their safety and happiness (relating to the unalienable rights). The Declaration is also explicit to state that such an act should not be done irrationally or on the whim of emotion alone, but a decisive and thought-out decision, “Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes”. It also goes onto explain that often a people are willing to endure some suffering and evils to not change what lives they are accustomed to. The Declaration goes onto state that when such a line of abuses of the people occur long enough or are severe enough, “it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security”. The purpose of this statement is to imply that the sufferings and evils the Colonists have endured, have now gone past the inconvenient and bearable to the oppressive and unbearable, and it is their right (relating to the order of power) to abolish this form of government and form its own. The Colonists had been patient and had attempted redress for their grievances with King George III, in order to avert such an action. But these attempted redresses where not successful, and the Declaration continues on to abuses, usurpations and tyranny of Great Britain in regards to the Colonies.

Section 3; Tyranny and abuses

The third section of the Declaration of Independence is a list of 28 grievances against King George III and Great Britain. The purpose of these grievances can be seen to have two separate functions. One; to list to the rest of the world’s nations what the Colonies have endured. Two; to also elaborate on how the King and Great Britain have failed to abide by the defined structure of power.

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 invasions from without and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration 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 benefits of trial by jury;

For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended offenses;

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring 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, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny already begun with circumstances of cruelty and 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 insurrection among us, and has endeavored 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.

These grievances listed can all be tied back to the defined structure of power stated in Section 2, being that the King and Great Britain have imposed themselves to be of superior power to that of that governed. This reversal of power left the Colonists unable to affect their own future, and define their own destiny. Not only where these abuses reversing the Natural order of power as the United States saw it, they were oppressive in nature in order to control, intimidate, and oppress an entire society or societies.

All of these abuses and reversals of power would later directly impact the structure of power in the Articles of Confederation and then the Constitution (Declaration of Independence influence on the Constitution). The American society was very much influenced by the likes of John Locke, Charles Montesquieu and other natural rights, and people orientated philosophers, including the drafters and framers during this period.

This reversal of the power structure and abuses where sufficient reason for the Americans to declare themselves free of them, and to take the inherent risk of self governance under these ideas. They knew they would no longer fall under the protection of a powerful sovereign, yet the cost to them was worth more than the reward.

Section 4; the Declaration

Section 4 starts off by reasserting the desire to not have wanted to follow this course of action.

Nor have we been wanting in our 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.

The Americans wanted the attention of the British people, the warned them of the impending trouble with Parliament and its relations with the Colonies. The Americans stated why so many had immigrated to North America, to escape from the firm grasp of Great Britain. The Americans attempted to appeal to their sense of justice and common ties, to standup against this tyranny. But all of these pleas went unheard, and unresponded to, and because of such the Americans feel as they have no other option besides Independence, and after being enemies during the current war, that they can still be friends when peace arrives.

The last paragraph is the one which in finality declares what the Americans already believe is fact, that they are free and independent states.

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 the 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 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.

Following the presentation of the purpose of the Declaration of Independence, the Justification to be able to Declare Independence, the Tyranny and abuses of the King and Great Britain the Declaration reaches its denouement, by declaring the Thirteen United States of America, “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 because of such they “have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do”.

In final support of the Declaration by those whom proclaimed it in the name of the People of the United States with a firm belief in God’s will (Divine Providence), “pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor”. The significance of this pledge is that by making this declaration and having their name associated and attached to it they would be branded as traitors to the crown, and they have put in jeopardy their lives, their fortunes and not only their sacred honor but that of their families as well. They knew all to well, if the American Revolution was lost, so would their lives. In spite of the risks associated with this act, they willingly went forward with it, since in the end they knew it was right. They knew the structure of power was wrong, they knew the abuses were too much, they knew the tyranny would not stop, and most importantly, they believed it was the will of God to make this happen in his Divine Providence.

Conclusion

The Declaration of Independence does much more than declare independence from Great Britain, it states what the Americans believed the rightful structure of power is, the purpose of government, indicts a King and Nation for violating these truths, and in general provides the basic foundation of power and the structure and role of government that would frame the Articles of Confederation and Constitution. It establishes the basic American principles rooted in the Natural and Unalienable rights, enshrines them for all times and declares to the world that it is always the right of the people to abolish tyrannical rule, and establish one that secures these rights best for the People.