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.
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. ...
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
-- Excerpt from the 1776 Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies of America
The Mandate of the Declaration of Independence
In the Year 2002, We Recognize, Through a Long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, Pursuing an Object that is Evincing a Design to Reduce us Under Absolute Despotism, We are:
Impelled to Separate
To Throw Off Government
To Abolish the Present Form of Government
And to Provide New Guards for our Future Security
This is our Right, and our Duty
Back to Phase 1 "Know" Menu for Item 7 - Thou Shalt Not Covet Oil and Gas
