Declaration

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Yes, that document formally approved on July 4 and eventually signed by 56 delegates representing the colonies was the famous Declaration of Independence.

It begins by saying, in effect, that the world deserves an explanation of why they wanted to separate themselves from Britain. Then comes a long list of the offenses of King George III, including his failure to apply to the colonists the rights that were guaranteed to Britons. 

Most famous of the Declaration's words are these: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by God with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. To secure these rights, Governments are instituted among people, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

It's the foundational principle behind the creating of the United States of America. It's entirely true, even if many citizens today don't agree that God Almighty is the source of these values.

Along with the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the original Declaration of Independence is displayed in the rotunda of the National Archives Museum in Washington D.C.

Over the years, this blog has given some attention to the history-making Declaration. Find those posts here.