Messages from the fifth dimension

Let's tackle the document in sections.

Title

The first part, the date and title, establish the document in place and time:

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

The "unanimous" part of the title is extremely important. Although demanding that it be unanimous or never be passed was a move on the part of a British loyalist to block forever the move toward independence, it was in fact a wise decision. As pointed out so ably in one of my favorite movies, 1776 (a musical, but don't let that put you off; it is extremely accurate and entertaining), had the agreement not been unanimous, had only the majority of the states declared independence, then in the ensuing conflict, friends and relatives would have found themselves on opposite sides, one fighting against the other.

Introduction

The next part is an introduction (most people call this and the next section the preamble).

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.

Basically, what this paragraph is saying is that, when a group of people want to disconnect from their government so that they can govern themselves in another way, it is important to explain why. There is more there, of course, but I think it is obvious and will leave it to you to enjoy.

Guiding Principles

After the introduction comes a list of guiding principles; truths that would be self-evident to any sane, reasonable, thinking person and that therefore would not need to be argued over or explained.

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.

This can be divided into several very logical sections.

1. The first section is, "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." This section states that all men (people) are created equal, and that there are certain rights that are not granted by any form of government or by any human or earthly power, but that are instead rights that all human beings have by right of being alive. No form of government can take those rights away. Notice that the rights listed are only some of the rights people are endowed with. One of our founding fathers once said that our rights were as "innumerable as the stars." The Bill of Rights was simply written to summarize some of the most important ones, not to be an exhaustive list of our rights, nor even anything close to one.
2. The next part, "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed," builds upon what was previously said. People create governments to ensure their God-given rights. Such governments obtain "their just powers from the consent of the governed." In other words, the only reason the government has any power is because the people grant it that power. It is important to notice the use of the word "just" here, as it means that only those powers that are just (that is, honorable and fair) are derived from the consent of those governed.
3. Next, this statement follows: "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." This is saying that when a government is destructive of the rights of the people, then the people have the right to change that government or even to get rid of it entirely, and to create a better one in its place.
4. "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." This part says that, if one has had a form of government for a long time, it is usually considered better to put up with it, even if bad, if it isn't too bad, rather than to change it, and definitely it is not right to change the government for reasons that are not important or that relate only to something that won't last.
5. However, what if the government is just too terrible to put up with? Then it is the right of the people—even their duty—to get rid of that government and create a new one that protects their rights and freedoms. "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."
6. In this case, the colonists felt that their form of government (i.e., King George III) had become a despotic tyranny under which they had no safety or rights. The final part of this section says so, and provides an introduction to the next section, which is a list of evidence supporting this tatement. "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 Facts

After the above paragraph follows a long list of tyrannical actions taken by King George, including the removal of rights that British citizens had. These rights included participating in their own governance, the right to fair trial, the right to pursue murderers and bring them to justice (King George's soldiers, quartered among the colonists, were murdering citizens and were never brought to justice for it), liberty, and so on. King George had acted repeatedly to remove these rights.

I won't repeat the list here, but encourage you to read it carefully. The gist of this section is that it shows King George had become a despot and was treating the colonists in a fashion that no free people should have to endure.

Attempts to Make it Right

Despite all this, the colonists tried to get their grievances redressed within the system, both by appealing to the government and appealing to their friends and relatives among those still living on British soil, all to no avail.

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.

Conclusion and Declaration

The final part (not counting the important 56 signatures) is a declaration based on the foregoing argument. Having said that people have the right to change their government if it infringes badly on their rights (especially to life and liberty), and having said that King George's government was doing so, the colonists then declare that they are free and independent states. Read this part carefully: It is the sum and the meat of the entire Declaration. One part is especially important to note: Each state in the United States is an independent state in exactly the same way that a country is. Each state has its own right to levy war, conclude peace, and so on.

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.

After that, 56 signatures follow. Remember that at the time, this was considered an act of treason by the British. However, war did not follow; war was already being waged on the colonies, and had been for over a year. British soldiers and mercenaries had already been in colonies, killing citizens, for that long. This document was a response to that undeclared war, and merely brought to a boil what had long been simmering.

Copyright notice: The text of the Declaration was taken from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Web site. You can virtually sign the Declaration at that Web site if you like. You can also find many useful pieces of information there.

Everything I have written about the Declaration here in this article is copyright 2003 by Marina Michaels; I thought it out myself and wrote it in my own original words without referring to any other documents.