Why is the deceleration of independence important?

Answer 1

The Declaration of Independence is important because it states that a government exists for the benefit of the people and that "all men are created equal." Adopted by the thirteen American colonies on July 4, 1776, the document is regarded as the best-written statement of individual rights in history. (The thirteen colonies were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.) In the Declaration of Independence the colonies not only declared their freedom from Great Britain, but they also addressed the reasons for the proclamation, naming the "causes which impel them to the separation." They cited the British government's violations of individual rights and went on to say that "the history of the present King George III of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations," which aimed to establish "an absolute Tyranny over these States."

The Declaration of Independence was prepared by a committee of the First Continental Congress, a meeting held in 1774 to formulate a response to attempts by the British Parliament (main governing body of Great Britain) to assert its control over the colonies. As chairman of the committee, Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) wrote and presented the first draft of the document at a subsequent meeting, the Second Continental Congress, on July 2, 1776.

The most frequently quoted passage reads: "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, 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."