The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America (in Plain English) (Click here for the full original text of the Declaration of Independence) All representatives of the colonies are present at this gathering on July 4, 1776. This is an announcement that we have all agreed upon, When in human history, it becomes necessary for one group of people, who are living under the rule of another group of people (or government), to end the political relationship between them and that group (or government), and take upon themselves the status of an independent nation which is equal to the other powerful nations (this is an action which is supported by both scientific fact and religious belief), that, out of respect for the other nations, these same people should state the reasons which drive them to declare their independence. We believe that the following truths are obvious: that all human beings are equal before the law, equal in the processes of government and certainly equal in the eyes of God. It is further true that God has given all humans the following specific rights that cannot be taken away without changing them into something completely other than human beings. These rights are part of the condition of being human: that people have a right to be alive. They cannot be killed or neglected. They have the right to continue to live. That everyone has the freedom to live in any way they choose and to seek out that which makes them happy. We believe that people form governments for the sole purpose of protecting these rights. Furthermore, the legal power of government comes from the permission of the citizens. And that whenever a specific government is not operating to protect the rights of the citizens, in fact, if it is denying rights to the citizens, these citizens have the right to change such a government and to establish a new government that is designed to promote and protect their idea of safety and happiness. Good sense demands that existing governments should not be changed for short lived and unimportant reasons. And, so, all experience has shown that people will continue to suffer for a very long time (as long as they can put up with it) rather than help themselves by changing a government that they are familiar with. However, when there have been many, many such offenses that all seem designed to produce the same end (that is, the complete subjugation of the people), they have the right and the obligation to end the rule of that government and to create a new government to protect their futures. This is what the colonists have suffered and these terribly harsh and oppressive actions of the existing government have forced them to act to change it. The history of the government of the King of Great Britain is a story of continued harm and the denial of rights, all calculated to create for him an absolute dictatorship over the colonies. Here are the facts to prove this to anyone in the world who honest, sincere and truthful: The King has refused to agree to laws that are good for the colonists. The King has prevented important laws from being implemented until he agrees to them and then he doesn't decide. The King does not pass laws which are important for large numbers of colonists unless they give up their right to have a say in who represents them; this is something only a dictator would do. He calls the legislature into session at unusual times and far away locations; trying to tire them out and force them into compliance with his wishes. He has dismissed the House of Representatives just because they stand up to his bullying. He waits forever to call for new elections; this has resulted in us now taking the law into our own hands, because without a government to protect our rights, we cannot be safe from internal disorder and external enemies. He has prevented additional people from immigrating to the United States by making it difficult for foreigners to become naturalized citizens, by not passing laws favorable to immigrants and immigration, and by charging higher prices for land. He has obstructed justice by not allowing laws that would establish a court system. He has made all the judges depend on him for their continued tenure and salaries. He has created a huge government bureaucracy that is filled with bureaucrats who have endless forms and processes that take up all of our time and make our lives miserable. He has soldiers here without our permission or the permission of our representatives. The King has caused the army to be above the law. He and others rule us in a way that is unfamiliar to us, does not fit in with our idea of how to govern and that we do not like. For making us provide free room and board for large groups of the King's soldiers. For pretending to punish soldiers when they murder us. For preventing us from trading with anyone we want throughout the world. For taxing us without our permission. For denying, in many cases, a fair trial by jury. For taking colonists overseas and punishing them without any valid reason. For destroying a perfectly good English legal system in a neighboring colony, creating a government there that does not represent the people, enlarging the boundaries of that colony, and threatening to use this as an example for how he plans to treat the United States. For taking away our legal rights, ending our laws and fundamentally changing our government. For not allowing our legislatures to meet and pass laws, but only recognizing the rule of his representatives. He has run away from his responsibilities as our government and left us legally helpless. He has stolen from our waters, destroyed our coastal areas, burned our towns, and killed our people. He is preparing to make war on us and is hiring foreign mercenaries to continue to expand the barbarous actions his own soldiers have already taken against us; all of this is entirely inappropriate for a civilized world. He has taken our sailors and forced them to make war against us. He has caused people here to revolt and has riled up the Indians (who kill men, women and children indiscriminately) to make war on us All along, the colonists asked modestly for remedies but their requests were not granted and the problems continued. A ruler who continues to do these things to his subjects is a dictator and unsuitable as the ruler of a free people. The colonists have tried to communicate these facts to the British: that the legislature has tried to pass unjust laws. They have discussed the past history, that they were promised full rights of Englishmen when they settled in the colonies. They have even appealed to their sense of right and wrong, but without success. Therefore, they are doing what they must, separating from England and becoming a new nation, which can be either enemy or friend. We, the authorized and assembled representatives of the United States, while appealing to God for the correctness of our purpose, do declare that these states are a free and independent nation; that all citizens are free of any obligation to the King of England, that all political connections between the two countries is ended, and that the new nation has the right to wage war, conclude peace, contract alliances, trade and do anything else a country might want to do. And to support this declaration, we pledge our lives, our futures and our honor. Connecticut: Samuel Huntington, Roger Sherman, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr, Thomas Lynch, Jr, Arthur Middleton Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr, Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton Copyright English 4 All, Inc. 2003 All Rights Reserved