CFW: Decoding the US Declaration of Independence

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another"

• When important events happen, sometimes a group of people needs to break their political ties with another group.

• When people disagree, they should ignore the problem and stay connected no matter what.

• Every time humans meet, they must form a single government together.

• When events get confusing, it is best to let the king decide what should happen.

"a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

• Out of respect for the rest of the world, the colonists need to explain the reasons why they are separating.

• Respect for mankind means following the king’s wishes without question.

• Other countries are required to support the colonies no matter what

• The colonists should stay silent so no other nations know about their decision

"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"

• Some people are naturally more important than others, so their rights matter most

• It is obvious that all people are equal and have rights given to them by their Creator that cannot be taken away.

• People only get rights if the king or government decides to give them

• Equality is possible, but rights can be taken away whenever necessary.

"Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed"

• Governments are created by people, and their power comes from the permission of the people they rule

• Governments get their power directly from kings, not from the people.

• Once a government is created, it keeps power forever, even without the people’s approval

• Governments only exist because they are stronger than the people and can control them.

“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”

• If a government stops protecting people’s rights, the people have the right to change it or get rid of it and create a new one

• If a government becomes unpopular, the people must accept it and cannot make changes

• Only kings and rulers can decide when a government should be changed.

• Governments should never be replaced, even if they take away people’s rights.

“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”

• If a government repeatedly abuses its power and tries to put people under absolute control, the people have the right and the duty to remove it and set up new protections for their future freedom.

• If a government becomes unfair and keeps abusing its power, the people are expected to accept its control, remain loyal to its leaders, and continue living under the same rules without seeking to improve their future security

• When rulers take away rights and hold absolute control, the people must stay silent and obey rather than resist, and they must depend on the same government to guide their future instead of creating new protections for themselves.

• Even if a government grows more abusive and unjust over time, the people have no right to resist its control and are required to keep the system as it is, allowing their rulers to decide the nation’s future without any changes.

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.

• The king’s army is in the colonies even though there is no war going on, and the colonial legislatures did not approve its presence.
• The king must approve all laws, which he has not done in a timely manner.
• The king decides when to fire a judge, the length of their term, and what they are paid.
• The military is more powerful and has more say than the colonial governments.

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.

• The king’s army is in the colonies even though there is no war going on, and the colonial legislatures did not approve its presence.
• Colonists are being captured and impressed (forced) into the British Navy.
• If a Legislature stands up to the king, they are shut down or dismissed.
• The Legislatures are meeting far from their usual places, to make them bend to the will of the king.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

• Colonists are being captured and impressed (forced) into the British Navy.
• The military is more powerful and has more say than the colonial governments.
• If a Legislature stands up to the king, they are shut down or dismissed.
• The king decides when to fire a judge, the length of their term, and what they are paid.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

• The military is more powerful and has more say than the colonial governments.
• The king decides when to fire a judge, the length of their term, and what they are paid.
• The king has sent more of his people, in new jobs, to bother the colonists and consume their resources.
• The king is sending hired military to the colonies to do his dirty work. No mercy is being shown, cruel and unusual punishment is used.