Declaration of Independence, Annotated
By Pastor T. P. Coleman
Grateful for the courage, fortitude and wisdom of the signers of the Declaration, and the wives who stood behind them, I present the Declaration of Independence with notes attached based on my studies of history and biblical principles which form the foundation for the principles of Liberty which our forefathers believed and for which they fought and died. To God be the Glory - His Truth Endureth for Ever!
Grateful for the courage, fortitude and wisdom of the signers of the Declaration, and the wives who stood behind them, I present the Declaration of Independence with notes attached based on my studies of history and biblical principles which form the foundation for the principles of Liberty which our forefathers believed and for which they fought and died. To God be the Glory - His Truth Endureth for Ever!
Introduction:
In colonial America, the disrespect for the rights of the colonists had reached such a level as to be unbearable. Arguments were being frequently made that the colonies ought to break away from England since they were not being treated as Englishmen, but as foreigners under occupation. Between June 11 and June 28, 1776, Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence. It is clearly recognized as America's most cherished document of liberty and is without question Jefferson's most enduring legacy.
In this document Jefferson expressed the convictions that were heating up in the minds and hearts of the American people at the time. The principles expressed in the Declaration were not new; the ideals of individual liberty were more and more becoming common knowledge as the impact of the common people having the Bible in their own language continued to effect changes in the world. Many of these principles had already been expressed by John Locke and other liberty-hungry men. Jefferson summarized these ideas in "self-evident truths" and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify in the eyes of the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country. The writing style shows the effect his knowledge of the Bible had on his thinking processes, particularly the grievance filed by Jephthah in the book of Judges (Judges 11:12-27) against the king of the Ammonites. Though the circumstances were very different, the styles are similar in that Jefferson laid out their God-given right to separate under certain conditions, the reasons for the separation followed by a detailed list of grievances, followed by a declaration of trust in God to help them secure their rights.
In colonial America, the disrespect for the rights of the colonists had reached such a level as to be unbearable. Arguments were being frequently made that the colonies ought to break away from England since they were not being treated as Englishmen, but as foreigners under occupation. Between June 11 and June 28, 1776, Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence. It is clearly recognized as America's most cherished document of liberty and is without question Jefferson's most enduring legacy.
In this document Jefferson expressed the convictions that were heating up in the minds and hearts of the American people at the time. The principles expressed in the Declaration were not new; the ideals of individual liberty were more and more becoming common knowledge as the impact of the common people having the Bible in their own language continued to effect changes in the world. Many of these principles had already been expressed by John Locke and other liberty-hungry men. Jefferson summarized these ideas in "self-evident truths" and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify in the eyes of the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country. The writing style shows the effect his knowledge of the Bible had on his thinking processes, particularly the grievance filed by Jephthah in the book of Judges (Judges 11:12-27) against the king of the Ammonites. Though the circumstances were very different, the styles are similar in that Jefferson laid out their God-given right to separate under certain conditions, the reasons for the separation followed by a detailed list of grievances, followed by a declaration of trust in God to help them secure their rights.
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
Introductory Principle
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another,
The course of human events is replete with evidences that everything that man creates or does gets corrupted. Change, therefore, is inevitable because people can not long endure corruption without revolution. Revolution, meaning, turning back to original rights and powers of dominion that God gave to the children of men to have individual dominion over everything in their life upon maturity and separation from their parents, and being free to make whatever associations, communities and alliances they see fit to help secure their rights.
Those wanting the purity of the laws of Nature and the Law of Nature’s God eventually must separate themselves from those who violate His laws even though they have been connected for a long time.
...and to assume among the powers of the earth,
When separation occurs, the new group has the right to assume they have the same right of self-determination and power over themselves as the group from which they have separated.
...the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them,
When separation occurs, the new group has just as much a right to exist as a group as the group to which they had been connected. They stand as equals to all other nations; and God is no respecter of persons.
Obligation to the world
...a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
Separation is painful. Before anyone causes pain to others, they have a duty to explain why they are going to inflict it, and give opportunity for the other party to avoid the pain; otherwise, it is a crime.
Foundational Principles
We hold these truths to be self-evident,
Truth is always self-evident to those who pay attention to the Law of Nature and of Nature’s God, the Word of God.
We hold these truths. “Buy the truth and sell it not.” Proverbs 23:23
...that all men are created equal,
Everything that is created has a Creator, as the next phrase confirms. Since the Creator is no respecter of persons, He creates us equal - we all start off in our mother's womb and are given opportunity to find happiness and enjoy life, unless someone interferes;but that's on them, not on God. This is the lead up to why our founding forebears were creating a new, better form of government.
...that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
Certain rights come from God, not governments or other men. Rights that come from God are unalienable, which means that no one can make you a stranger (alien) to them or put a lien (tax) on your rights without violating God’s Law. Conquering kings would put liens on the aliens they conquered, i.e., put them to tribute, put a head tax on them, or a tax on their labour.
...that among these
God has given us many rights. More than the ones listed next. The three rights mentioned next are “among” other rights not listed, such as the right to move of your own volition, and the right to believe whatever you are convinced is true (whether you’re right or wrong).
...are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
These three rights encompass the most important of rights in the mind of Thomas Jefferson.
Life, being the basis for all other enjoyments, is listed first.
Liberty, the ability to use freedom without consequence is most valuable to life. Who wants to live and not be free to do what you believe you ought to do? Patrick Henry summed it up when he said, “Give me Liberty, or give me death.”
The pursuit of Happiness has been the longing of mankind since the garden of Eden. The Creator did not create man to be sad, but to have happiness. Happiness is a byproduct of proper action, including duty. It is not to be confused with its cheap cousin, thrill. Happiness is the result of happenings that are satisfying. Everybody has a right to pursue those things that produce Happiness. No one has the right to prevent someone from ever knowing Happiness.
--That to secure these rights,
Due to the depravity and selfishness of the corrupted nature of man and this cursed earth, these rights are quite often in jeopardy. We therefore have a right to secure the rights which God has given us.
...Governments are instituted among Men,
One of the ways we secure these rights is by banding together in a commonwealth A commonwealth makes it possible for all who have in common the well-being of a group, to watch out for each other. There is strength and safety in numbers when faced with wild animals, natural disasters, and violent men who do not respect the rights of others, but instead seek to violate their rights for selfish gain. But a commonwealth must have controls lest it become a danger to the liberties of those within the commonwealth. These controls are called government. A governor on a motor is what keeps the motor running at a limited speed, not out of control and flying apart. Have you ever pedaled a bicycle so fast that your feet could not keep up? Did your feet stay on the pedals?
...deriving their just powers
Governments only have derived powers, they do not have any inherent powers. Only people who God has created have inherent powers. Power must be used in a just manner or it is evil. Injustice cannot be countenanced by any people or individual. It is the antithesis of liberty, because God is just. If God were unjust, He would not long be God, for all injustice eventually destroys the person being unjust. This is an immutable law of nature which history has borne out repeatedly. So, government must be limited to just powers and never be allowed to exercise unjust powers.
...from the consent of the governed,
Since everyone has free will as a gift from God, when they come together in a commonwealth, they do so by consent, not by compulsion. Therefore, any powers that they grant cannot rightfully be abusive to the grantors (the People) of the power. The people are the Grantors; the government is the Grantee.
--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends,
It is a natural law that, over time, organizations and governments, regardless of their form, stray from their original purpose, and instead of protecting the rights of the people they become abusive and oppressive toward the people and the people lose the ability to exercise their rights, and their rights begin to be violated by those sworn to protect their rights. When that happens...
...it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,
People have an inherent right to protect their unalienable, God-given rights. Therefore, the right to alter a form of government that no longer protects those rights, as originally intended, cannot be denied. The people also have the right to completely abolish any government that fails in its duty to protect the rights of the people. The right to grant power includes the right to reverse the granting of power or to alter the amount of power granted.
...it is the Right of the People 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.
The right to grant power is an unlimited right which can be exercised more than once. Therefore, the people can grant power to new institutions when old ones fail to protect the rights of the people. It only makes sense that in such a case the people have the right to establish their new government on principles that will most likely guarantee the protection of their rights. They have the right to learn from the mistakes and deficiencies of a previous form of government and organize their new government in such a manner as to make the best use of what they learned from the failures of the previous government.
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.
The difficulty of reorganizing a government or abolishing one and establishing a new one makes it understandable that such changes will not be done frequently or on a whim. History shows that people will put up with poor government as long as it is bearable because they grow used to it, rather than put forth the effort required to establish a new one. But when it becomes unbearable, they inevitably break the bonds of bad government.
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,
As the pattern of abuse becomes more steady and apparent, and they become of aware that they have lost all power and control to a tyrant or tyrants, it is the duty and the right of the people to rid themselves of such government.
...it is their right, it is their duty... to provide new Guards for their future security.
It is also their right to institute new protections that will secure and protect their rights.
This is what the People were declaring that they were doing. They provided for all the world to see the following list of examples of the abuse of their rights.
Proof given (27 Grievances are then given to justify their right to separate from Britain, see Addendum at end).
Actions taken already
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 actions of the leaders of the colonists showed a pattern of willingness to be subject to the king and to make peace. But his and Parliament’s refusal to treat the colonists with respect to all the rights of Englishmen led to the recognition that they would always be treated as lesser men and would continue to have their rights trampled. This repetitive abuse made it clear they would be ruled by a Tyrant if they did not separate.
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.
Due to the failure of Parliament to hear their cries for justice and equitable treatment, it became clear to the founders that it was absolutely necessary to separate from England.
Conclusion
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled,
The signers represented the people of the several States, who, as a whole, wanted to be free from the injustice of the king, Parliament and the standing army of British soldiers. They assembled together and decided to walk this path together. Congress = walk together.
...appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions,
They recognized that God judges among the nations. He raises up or allows them to be raised up, and He puts them down when He decides they deserve such judgment. They trusted in God’s characteristic of being a Just God, and appealed to Him for aid in making things right and just, being certain their intentions were right and honourable.
...do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare,
As representatives, the signers recognized they were making this declaration not for themselves only, but in the name of the people, and by their authority. They did not do this flippantly, but very solemnly.
...declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States;
Liberty is doing what you ought to do with the freedom you have been given. The king of England was not doing what he ought to do with the colonies, therefore, they have the right to be free from and independent of England.
...declare... 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;
Abuse dissolves all allegiances. No one should be required to be loyal to one who abuses or oppresses them! Any ties that connect them, they have a right to break and dissolve.
...declare ...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.
This is just a short list of things which independent nations have the right to do by reason of their status among other nations.
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.
A declaration without the backup of a pledge is useless. This pledge was made even though it meant war and great danger to the signers. A strong, unshakable trust in God to bless their stand against tyranny was what motivated the signers to pledge all that they held dear. Would God more people would do the same now that we are in a similar predicament as they were in. Without God’s help, we are doomed as a nation and as individuals as far as Liberty and security are concerned.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
Introductory Principle
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another,
The course of human events is replete with evidences that everything that man creates or does gets corrupted. Change, therefore, is inevitable because people can not long endure corruption without revolution. Revolution, meaning, turning back to original rights and powers of dominion that God gave to the children of men to have individual dominion over everything in their life upon maturity and separation from their parents, and being free to make whatever associations, communities and alliances they see fit to help secure their rights.
Those wanting the purity of the laws of Nature and the Law of Nature’s God eventually must separate themselves from those who violate His laws even though they have been connected for a long time.
...and to assume among the powers of the earth,
When separation occurs, the new group has the right to assume they have the same right of self-determination and power over themselves as the group from which they have separated.
...the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them,
When separation occurs, the new group has just as much a right to exist as a group as the group to which they had been connected. They stand as equals to all other nations; and God is no respecter of persons.
Obligation to the world
...a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
Separation is painful. Before anyone causes pain to others, they have a duty to explain why they are going to inflict it, and give opportunity for the other party to avoid the pain; otherwise, it is a crime.
Foundational Principles
We hold these truths to be self-evident,
Truth is always self-evident to those who pay attention to the Law of Nature and of Nature’s God, the Word of God.
We hold these truths. “Buy the truth and sell it not.” Proverbs 23:23
...that all men are created equal,
Everything that is created has a Creator, as the next phrase confirms. Since the Creator is no respecter of persons, He creates us equal - we all start off in our mother's womb and are given opportunity to find happiness and enjoy life, unless someone interferes;but that's on them, not on God. This is the lead up to why our founding forebears were creating a new, better form of government.
...that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
Certain rights come from God, not governments or other men. Rights that come from God are unalienable, which means that no one can make you a stranger (alien) to them or put a lien (tax) on your rights without violating God’s Law. Conquering kings would put liens on the aliens they conquered, i.e., put them to tribute, put a head tax on them, or a tax on their labour.
...that among these
God has given us many rights. More than the ones listed next. The three rights mentioned next are “among” other rights not listed, such as the right to move of your own volition, and the right to believe whatever you are convinced is true (whether you’re right or wrong).
...are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
These three rights encompass the most important of rights in the mind of Thomas Jefferson.
Life, being the basis for all other enjoyments, is listed first.
Liberty, the ability to use freedom without consequence is most valuable to life. Who wants to live and not be free to do what you believe you ought to do? Patrick Henry summed it up when he said, “Give me Liberty, or give me death.”
The pursuit of Happiness has been the longing of mankind since the garden of Eden. The Creator did not create man to be sad, but to have happiness. Happiness is a byproduct of proper action, including duty. It is not to be confused with its cheap cousin, thrill. Happiness is the result of happenings that are satisfying. Everybody has a right to pursue those things that produce Happiness. No one has the right to prevent someone from ever knowing Happiness.
--That to secure these rights,
Due to the depravity and selfishness of the corrupted nature of man and this cursed earth, these rights are quite often in jeopardy. We therefore have a right to secure the rights which God has given us.
...Governments are instituted among Men,
One of the ways we secure these rights is by banding together in a commonwealth A commonwealth makes it possible for all who have in common the well-being of a group, to watch out for each other. There is strength and safety in numbers when faced with wild animals, natural disasters, and violent men who do not respect the rights of others, but instead seek to violate their rights for selfish gain. But a commonwealth must have controls lest it become a danger to the liberties of those within the commonwealth. These controls are called government. A governor on a motor is what keeps the motor running at a limited speed, not out of control and flying apart. Have you ever pedaled a bicycle so fast that your feet could not keep up? Did your feet stay on the pedals?
...deriving their just powers
Governments only have derived powers, they do not have any inherent powers. Only people who God has created have inherent powers. Power must be used in a just manner or it is evil. Injustice cannot be countenanced by any people or individual. It is the antithesis of liberty, because God is just. If God were unjust, He would not long be God, for all injustice eventually destroys the person being unjust. This is an immutable law of nature which history has borne out repeatedly. So, government must be limited to just powers and never be allowed to exercise unjust powers.
...from the consent of the governed,
Since everyone has free will as a gift from God, when they come together in a commonwealth, they do so by consent, not by compulsion. Therefore, any powers that they grant cannot rightfully be abusive to the grantors (the People) of the power. The people are the Grantors; the government is the Grantee.
--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends,
It is a natural law that, over time, organizations and governments, regardless of their form, stray from their original purpose, and instead of protecting the rights of the people they become abusive and oppressive toward the people and the people lose the ability to exercise their rights, and their rights begin to be violated by those sworn to protect their rights. When that happens...
...it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,
People have an inherent right to protect their unalienable, God-given rights. Therefore, the right to alter a form of government that no longer protects those rights, as originally intended, cannot be denied. The people also have the right to completely abolish any government that fails in its duty to protect the rights of the people. The right to grant power includes the right to reverse the granting of power or to alter the amount of power granted.
...it is the Right of the People 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.
The right to grant power is an unlimited right which can be exercised more than once. Therefore, the people can grant power to new institutions when old ones fail to protect the rights of the people. It only makes sense that in such a case the people have the right to establish their new government on principles that will most likely guarantee the protection of their rights. They have the right to learn from the mistakes and deficiencies of a previous form of government and organize their new government in such a manner as to make the best use of what they learned from the failures of the previous government.
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.
The difficulty of reorganizing a government or abolishing one and establishing a new one makes it understandable that such changes will not be done frequently or on a whim. History shows that people will put up with poor government as long as it is bearable because they grow used to it, rather than put forth the effort required to establish a new one. But when it becomes unbearable, they inevitably break the bonds of bad government.
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,
As the pattern of abuse becomes more steady and apparent, and they become of aware that they have lost all power and control to a tyrant or tyrants, it is the duty and the right of the people to rid themselves of such government.
...it is their right, it is their duty... to provide new Guards for their future security.
It is also their right to institute new protections that will secure and protect their rights.
This is what the People were declaring that they were doing. They provided for all the world to see the following list of examples of the abuse of their rights.
Proof given (27 Grievances are then given to justify their right to separate from Britain, see Addendum at end).
Actions taken already
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 actions of the leaders of the colonists showed a pattern of willingness to be subject to the king and to make peace. But his and Parliament’s refusal to treat the colonists with respect to all the rights of Englishmen led to the recognition that they would always be treated as lesser men and would continue to have their rights trampled. This repetitive abuse made it clear they would be ruled by a Tyrant if they did not separate.
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.
Due to the failure of Parliament to hear their cries for justice and equitable treatment, it became clear to the founders that it was absolutely necessary to separate from England.
Conclusion
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled,
The signers represented the people of the several States, who, as a whole, wanted to be free from the injustice of the king, Parliament and the standing army of British soldiers. They assembled together and decided to walk this path together. Congress = walk together.
...appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions,
They recognized that God judges among the nations. He raises up or allows them to be raised up, and He puts them down when He decides they deserve such judgment. They trusted in God’s characteristic of being a Just God, and appealed to Him for aid in making things right and just, being certain their intentions were right and honourable.
...do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare,
As representatives, the signers recognized they were making this declaration not for themselves only, but in the name of the people, and by their authority. They did not do this flippantly, but very solemnly.
...declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States;
Liberty is doing what you ought to do with the freedom you have been given. The king of England was not doing what he ought to do with the colonies, therefore, they have the right to be free from and independent of England.
...declare... 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;
Abuse dissolves all allegiances. No one should be required to be loyal to one who abuses or oppresses them! Any ties that connect them, they have a right to break and dissolve.
...declare ...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.
This is just a short list of things which independent nations have the right to do by reason of their status among other nations.
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.
A declaration without the backup of a pledge is useless. This pledge was made even though it meant war and great danger to the signers. A strong, unshakable trust in God to bless their stand against tyranny was what motivated the signers to pledge all that they held dear. Would God more people would do the same now that we are in a similar predicament as they were in. Without God’s help, we are doomed as a nation and as individuals as far as Liberty and security are concerned.
Addendum
The Grievances
The Grievances
- 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 invasion from without, and convulsions within.
- 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.
- 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 harrass 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 offences
- 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:
- 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, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
- 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.
- 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 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.