Declaration translation

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

This is the Declaration of the thirteen united States of America. When in history, it is necessary for a group of people to split up politically and become equals. Natural sense and politics say they should declare why they are separating.

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.

We consider these to be acknowledged facts of life: that every human is equal, that every human is entitled to certain Rights that they cannot be deprived of, some of which are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness

–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

These rights must be defended and so we create Governments, who are given power by our agreement that they perform this defense.

–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, 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.

Therefore, whenever a Government works against this goal, it is the Right of the People to change or abolish it, and to create a new Government. This new Government should be based on principles and organizing ideas that seem to the People to be governed most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

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.

Good sense tells us that Governments that have lasted a long time shouldn’t be changed for light or temporary reasons. This means that humans are probably going to suffer as long as they can, before they destroy what they are used to.

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 series of abuses and take-overs do one thing, which is reduce the People to subjects under a Dictator. Then it is their right, and their duty, to overthrow that Government and get new Guards for their future security.

–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

This is what the Colonies have been dealing with, and now we need to change our Systems of Government. The story of King Charles III is a story of repeated abuse and seizures, with the goal of establishing Tyranny over us, the United States. To prove us right, listen to these facts:

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

The King has vetoed and ignored laws that protected our security and happiness.

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 has stopped laws that would have helped us, unless he gave permission that they were enforced, and then he has ignored them entirely to stop our security and happiness.

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.

The King has refused to pass laws that accurately represent the populations of the lands, unless they would let him take away their Representation in the Legislature, taking away a fundamental right that would only be threatening to a tyrant.

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 has called together important meetings with our representatives in strange places that were hard to get to at bad times, just to tire them out until they let him have his way.

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

The King has ignored, and de-legitimized, the People’s Representatives over and over for stopping his assault on the People’s rights.

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.

While the King delayed the legitimate ways of confronting his power, through delaying and repeating elections, he also stopped the defense of our security and happiness against foreign threats and domestic problems.

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.

The King has tried to stop the growth of the People of these States. He has stopped immigration progress, closing the borders and making land expensive.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

The King has stopped the enforcement of laws by manipulating his influence over the courts.

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

The King has made the Judges his lackeys, and their lives and paychecks depend on him.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

The King has created way too many new positions and government sectors. Now tons of their officers harass people in public and make everyone miserable all the time.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

The King has soldiers and cops everywhere and no one here has a say in it.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

The King considers the interests of the military and law enforcement more important than civil interest or liberty.

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:

The King has coordinated with other authorities to enforce his will, not caring about established law, and passing acts that contradict the law the People put in place.

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

The King has stationed armies in our cities.

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

The King has used his influence in the courts to protect these armies from any punishment no matter what they do to the People.

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

The King has cut off our trade with the rest of the world.

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

The King has put taxes on us without our vote or permission

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

The King has used the courts against the people many times:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

The King has made the courts move accused citizens around to obscure their work in his punishment

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:

The King has arbitrarily destroyed and re-instated the government of our neighbors. Using them as experiments for what he wants to do to us.

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

The King has taken away our petitions, ignored our laws, and changed anything he wants about how our Government works.

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

The King has ignored our own elected representatives and kept all power to change our lives to himself.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

The King has declared us out of his protection and sent his forces to harass us as punishment, while ignoring our safety and happiness.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

The King has taken our resources, destroyed our environment, set us back, and hurt all of our futures.

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.

The King is currently moving troops of mercenaries and armies to organize his tyranny and destruction, which he has already started. Behaving like a barbarian and not acting worthy of being the elected 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.

The King has used the People against ourselves, to punish each other for his crimes or to die of our own depression.

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.

The King has encouraged domestic violence and riots, he has invited the terrors of our times to punish us as he deprives us of safety and happiness.

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.

At every step of this abuse, we have tried to follow the rules. But again and again he has lashed out instead. This King, who acts like a Tyrant, is unfit to rule anyone.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. 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.

We know the British are aware of our situation. We have told them about their King and his court’s abuses. We have reminded them about our agreement and why we let them rule us from over there. We asked that they treat us like neighbors and defend us, but the British have ignored us. So we have to say it’s time for us to separate on good terms, as equals like any other country.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; 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; and 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. 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.

We the representatives of the People of the united States of America, assembled and appealing to God for our authority, do declare that these United Colonies are now Free and Independent States. These States have the power to defend us, to govern us, to ally us, to run our businesses, and other things States might need to do. To support this Declaration, and with some good luck from God, we promise each other our lives, our futures, and our morality.