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.

The Declaration begins by saying that the Founders were determined to separate from the British Empire, and in the rest of the document they would lay out their reasons for declaring independence.

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,

Everyone is born with their rights.  They are not given by the government, but exist is a natural state.  While people in a state of nature are free, they are also very vulnerable and at risk of losing their freedom.  Governments are created by free people in order to secure their already existing rights. 

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.

If a government becomes tyrannical, the citizens have not just the right, but the duty to revolt and change the government.  This is not to be done lightly, most problems can be resolved without resorting to such extreme measures.  But the colonies had already suffered a great number of injustices for a very long time.  They had attempted to find peaceful solutions to their mistreatment, but all such petitions were rejected.  Revolution was the only choice left to them.

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.

King George III and his parliament had repeatedly committed injustices against the colonists and had denied them their rights as Englishmen.  What follows is a list of these offenses.

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.

The first two charges refer to how King George commanded the colonial governors to repeal laws passed by the legislatures until he had personally approved them.  In practice, he often neglected to review these laws and they would sit in this legal limbo for years on end.  He had both refused to approve these laws himself and forbid any governors from taking the task onto themselves.

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.

Multiple states had attempted to allow new towns to be formed with representation in the colonial government, but King George forbade this from happening.  He feared the colonial governments gaining too much power, whereas the colonists viewed such representation as necessary to ensure that their leadership gained their power from the consent of the governed. 

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.

In Virginia and Massachusetts, the royal governors had the assemblies moved on the pretense of safety.  In practice, they were moved far away from where the public records were stored, meaning that it was far more difficult to present an argument against the British government’s decrees.

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

On more than one occasion, King George ordered colonial governments to be disbanded when they stood up for the rights of their citizens.  Specifically, the Coercive Acts disbanded the Massachusetts legislature and installed a military governor in their place.

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.

After disbanding the colonial governments, King George refused to allow new congresses to be formed by the people.  The Founders rejected his right to do this, even though he was their king.  They believed that no-one had the right to rule others without the consent of the governed.

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.

King George had opposed laws to encourage immigration to America, out of fear that it would lead to a shortage of workers in Great Britain.  He also made it much more difficult to obtain land in the New World, something that deeply offended the Founders.  Along with the previously stated life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the Founders believed that people had the inalienable right to own property.

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

In North Carolina, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania, the colonial legislatures had passed laws to establish courts in the colonies.  The British government objected to this.  They believed that only the king had the authority to establish a court of law.  As King George did not give his assent to set up courts in these colonies, that had to make do without a judiciary.

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

King George appointed judges who were loyal exclusively to him, rather than their constituents.  This represented an infringement by the executive power onto the judiciary.  When these powers are not separated, the people’s rights are in danger.

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

This passage refers to how the British set of military courts to enforce trade laws.  As they were not approved by the colonial legislatures and were not subject to civil authority, the Founders considered them illegitimate.

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

As governments derive their powers from consent of the governed, keeping a standing army in peacetime without their approval was unacceptable.  Standing armies were regarded as a grave threat to liberty.  Thomas Jefferson had previously written in “A Summary View of the Rights of British America,” that a standing army gave the British crown the ability to strip the colonies of their rights whenever the mood struck them.

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

King George gave military courts jurisdiction over civilians for certain crimes, mainly having to do with trade.  They were not subject to the colonial governments, only to the British Crown. 

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:

In the Patriots’ understanding of the British Constitution, they recognized the King as their head of state, but were governed by their colonial legislatures, not by the British Parliament.  The fact they King George III did not recognize the colonial governments and insisted on having their laws made in London gave the Founders justification to declare their independence from the British Crown.

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

The Quartering Act of 1765 made colonial governments provide for the housing and supplying of British soldiers.  While they were not required to allow soldiers to stay in private homes, the colonists objected to the Act, as it was another attempt to tax them without their consent. The later Quartering Act of 1774 attempted to strengthen this law by allowing governors to house British troops in civilian-owned buildings, something to which the colonists took great offense.  When the Bill of Rights was written thirteen years after the Declaration, these actions were specifically forbidden by the Third Amendment.

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

This refers to the Boston Massacre, which occurred on March 5^th, 1770.  Five people were killed by British soldiers, who escaped punishment. John Adams drew the ire of many other Patriots for serving as their defense, as he believed everyone deserved legal representation.

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

The British Empire had complete control over trade within the American colonies.  They were only allowed to buy or sell their goods with Great Britain, effectively giving the British Crown a monopoly over commerce in America.  In addition, they sometimes forcibly closed ports, notably in Boston after the famous Tea Party in 1774.

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

The British government imposed harsh taxes on the colonies while simultaneously refusing them the right to represent themselves in Parliament.  This “Taxation without Representation” was a major cause of the rebellion.

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

Per the Sugar Act of 1764, trials regarding matters of commerce were decided simply by the appointed military judge, rather than the established right to have your guilt or innocence be determined by a jury of your peers.  The colonists regarded trial by jury to be a vital component of a free society, as it would require your guilt to be determined by a panel of your neighbors, not by agents of the government.

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

Prosecutors were allowed to transport Americans accused of crimes subject to military trial back to Britain.  By necessity, this stripped the defendant of a jury of their peers.

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:

The “neighbouring Province” that the Declaration refers to in Massachusetts.  After the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773, Britain passed a series of five acts punishing the entire colony for the actions of the Sons of Liberty.  These soon became known as the “Intolerable Acts.”  The first was the Boston Port Act, which forced the port to close until the East India Company had received monetary compensation for its losses during the Tea Party.  The second was the Administration of Justice Act, which allowed the governor to move any soldier or government employee out of the colony if he judged that they would not receive a fair trial in Massachusetts.  The third was the Massachusetts Government Act, which stripped the people of the right to free assembly and required that the colonial government would be appointed by the Crown, not elected by the legislature.  Next was the Quartering Act of 1774, which, as discussed earlier, allowed governors to house troops in privately-owned buildings.  The final Intolerable Act was the Quebec Act, which taxed Catholics to support their clergy.  It also greatly expanded Quebec’s territory southward, which the colonists believed was a move to prevent their westward expansion by blocking the way with the more loyal Catholics.

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

Britain had a long tradition of constitutional monarchy, meaning that there were severe checks on the king’s power.  In the colonies, King George tried to take their legal protections away and rule in a manner much more like an absolute monarch.

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

After the Intolerable Acts were passed, the colonies were not allowed to elect their own governments.  Instead, the British crown appointed military governors, who were not accountable to their citizens.  This was not the normal state of affairs for British colonies, who were typically allowed to self-govern.  This passage directly quotes Parliament, who repealed the controversial Stamp Act of 1766 while still asserting this right to legislate for the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.”  Parliament stated in no uncertain terms that the American colonies did not have the right to represent themselves in their own government.

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

On December 22, 1775, King George approved a Parliamentary Act which declared the colonies as out of his protection.  With this Act, the colonies were no longer the King’s subjects and instead were enemies of war.

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

Britain had declared open war against the colonies, as they saw them in rebellion against their rightful rulers.  This warfare included the burning of multiple towns and the plundering of ports.

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.

About 30,000 German mercenaries, mostly from Hesse, were used to supplement the British Army.  These soldiers were some of the best-trained and most feared in all European militaries.  The Patriots reviled the Hessians, as they were fighting for money, not for a cause.

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.

This refers to the use of impressment, where men were captured and forced to serve on naval vessels.  This was not an uncommon practice at the time, but it was a controversial one.  Certainly, when you were fighting a war it was not considered acceptable to do this to your enemy’s citizens.  In December, 1775, the British Crown authorized its navy to do just that to captured American vessels.

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.

The British government offered freedom to any slaves who joined their cause.  They also encouraged Native American tribes to attack the colonies.  These tribes often did not follow the accepted customs of war.  There were accounts of them attacking and scalping civilian women and children, which outraged the colonists.

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.

The Founders had repeatedly attempted to resolve their grievances through peaceful means.  All their previous petitions were met with fierce rebukes.  King George III is referred to here as a “Prince” meaning a first citizen or ruler rather than the more common meaning of “son of the king.”  His actions had marked him as a tyrant, and therefore his colonial subjects owed him no allegiance. 

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.

The Founders had also made repeated attempts to negotiate with Parliament and the British people, but all these overtures had been just as unsuccessful as the negotiations with the king.  Because diplomacy had failed on so many occasions, the only remaining option was separation from the British Empire.

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.

When the Declaration concluded with the signers each pledging their “lives, fortunes. and sacred honor,” this was not something done lightly.  By all appearances, they would soon lose the war and the revolution would come to an ignominious end.  Had this occurred, they would have surely all been hanged, their assets seized, and their memories damned in the history books.  With the writing and signing of the Declaration, the Founding Fathers knew that they had crossed the Rubicon.  It was now either independence or death. 

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Georgia

Button Gwinnett

Lyman Hall

George Walton

North Carolina

William Hooper

Joseph Hewes

John Penn

South Carolina

Edward Rutledge

Thomas Heyward, Jr.

Thomas Lynch, Jr.

Arthur Middleton

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

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

New York

William Floyd

Philip Livingston

Francis Lewis

Lewis Morris

New Jersey

Richard Stockton

John Witherspoon

Francis Hopkinson

John Hart

Abraham Clark

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