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for chapter 12:

The Declaration of Independence

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, . . . a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

When one part of a country has to break away and make a new country, it’s good to say exactly why they are separating.

The second excerpt lists some of the rights all people should have.

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 think these ideas are obvious:  all people are created equal, and they have certain rights that can never be taken away.  These rights include the right to live, to be free, and to try to find happiness.

The third excerpt explains why government exists. It also describes citizens’ rights if the government acts unfairly.  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.

Governments are made by the agreement of the people being governed. Any government that doesn’t follow the wishes of the people can be changed or gotten rid of and a new government made.

The fourth excerpt presents a general complaint against King George III.

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.

Yo, yo, yo.  King George has again and again taken our rights and hurt us.  He did this because he wanted all the power for himself.  As proof, we offer evidence to the world.

The fifth excerpt declares the colonies’ independence.

(We) 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 that State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved.

We say in public that the colonies are free and independent.  We no longer owe any loyalty to the King, and any connections between the country of Great Britain and us is now completely gone.