Who did the declaration of independence give power to?

Answer 1

The declaration gave power to no one specifically. It told the American people, indeed all people that they had power all along. It was a proclamation that the American people would

"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".

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

Essentially this is saying that the American people have rights(power) simply because they are human. The government that they would be instituting (there was no constitution yet) would be given only the powers that the people consent to give it.

The balance of the declaration rejects the power which the then King George of England claims over them. King George's power to rule was also claimed to be given him by God.

The Constitution later enumerated and secured the rights of the people, keeping the government from unconstitutionally persecuting a person. It ensured the people that their rights to life, liberty and their pursuit of happiness would not be removed without due process.