Thomas JeffersonThis line was written by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776).
The Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence begins with Thomas Jefferson's famous phrase “when in the course of human events” — and so did an early draft of Israel's founding document.
Notice the words that Jefferson used in the opening. He wrote, "It becomes necessary." By using these words, Jefferson was saying that there was only one way to proceed — through war.
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.
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.
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.
The introductory sentence states the Declaration's main purpose, to explain the colonists' right to revolution. In other words, “to declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” Congress had to prove the legitimacy of its cause. It had just defied the most powerful nation on Earth.
create an absolute tyranny overThe Declaration of IndependenceQuestionAnswerUnder what conditions should governments be changedOnly when necessary-"not to be changed for light or transient causes"Who was the "despot" that the colonies were complaining aboutKingWhat was the King's goal for the coloniesto create an absolute tyranny over the colonies23 more rows
What words show that England and the United States were together and now going to separate? A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
Increasingly, as Americans included it in their constitutions, the right of revolution came to be seen as a constitutional principle permitting the people as the sovereign to control government and revise their constitutions without limit.
That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to 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.
§2385. Advocating overthrow of Government. Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both, and shall be ineligible for employment by the United States or any department or agency thereof, for the five years next following his conviction.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
This book has a not-new thesis, beloved by Marxists and Charles Beard: that economic reasons were the real driver behind the Civil War. Actually, Charles Adams tells us that only one economic reason was the sole driver—increased tariffs dictated by the North.
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Believe me, dear Sir: there is not in the British empire a man who more cordially loves a union with Great Britain than I do.
Thomas Paine 's pamphlet Common Sense was published in January 1776, just as it became clear in the colonies that the king was not inclined to act as a conciliator.
Political maneuvering was setting the stage for an official declaration of independence even while a document was being written to explain the decision.
The declaration is not divided into formal sections; but it is often discussed as consisting of five parts: introduction, preamble, indictment of King George III, denunciation of the British people, and conclusion.
Historians have often sought to identify the sources that most influenced the words and political philosophy of the Declaration of Independence. By Jefferson's own admission, the Declaration contained no original ideas, but was instead a statement of sentiments widely shared by supporters of the American Revolution. As he explained in 1825:
The signed copy of the Declaration is now badly faded because of poor preserving practices in the 19th century. It is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
Johannes Adam Simon Oertel 's painting Pulling Down the Statue of King George III, N.Y.C., ca. 1859, depicts citizens destroying a statue of King George after the Declaration was read in New York City on July 9, 1776.