The Declaration of Independence Part 1: "When in the Course of human events..."

Thomas Jefferson

The Declaration of Independence is not an easy read.
It's not easy because it was written almost 250 years ago!

Despite its difficulty, it is one of the most influential documents ever written, and arguably one of if not the most influential document that formed the United States of America. An argument could be made for the Constitution, but without the declaration of independence, there would be no Constitution. 

Thomas Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, although many others contributed.

I will be publishing the Declaration of Independence in a five-part series with my commentary, in an attempt to help explain one of the greatest documents ever written with some understandable clarity.

Part 1: "When in the Course of Human Events"

The Declaration of Independence is basically a letter to Kings George III stating (declaring) that the colonies are sick and tired of the tyranny and lack of voice in terms of governing and the colonies are going to govern themselves. They are not asking, they have already tried that. They are telling him.  King Geroge III reacted by calling them TRAITORS and sending the most powerful Army in the world after them.

Here's the first part of that letter:

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.

The first sentence is 71 words long! Every 9-12 English teacher is face-palming right now, but it's a sentence that sets up the rest of the document quite well.  So what does it say?  I have copied it below and inserted my own "laymen" terms to help us understand.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, 

When things happen that require one group to leave another group.
In other words, when the American colonists have had enough of the tyranny from King George that they have no other choice but to leave.

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, 

When a group leaves, they have the power to do things for themselves and they don't need to rely on other people because they have the Law of Nature and the Law of God, who gave everyone certain things.

a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

If a group is going to leave, then it's the respectable thing to do is to tell (or declare) why they are leaving. Learn more in Part 2: "We Hold These Truths to be Self-Evident" which will publish next week.

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Here is a link to the Declaration of Independence so you can read it yourself:
Declaration of Independence

Post your comments below. What do you think about the first sentence in the Declaration of Independence?



Resources:


Hart, D., Bower, B., & Lobdell, J. (2002). History alive. Palo Alto, CA: Teachers Curriculum Institute.