Transcript Document

What Does the Declaration of
Independence Say?
© North Carolina Community College System
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The Declaration of Independence
has four parts.
The first part says that people
who separate from other people
should tell why they must do so.
The second part gives important
ideas in American government. It
says that
• All men are created equal
=
• All men have rights that cannot be taken
away by another person.
• Among these rights are
liberty,
life,
and the
pursuit of
happiness.
• Government gets its power from the consent of
the governed.
• Government should protect the safety and
happiness of everyone.
• If a government
disregards the
rights of the
people for a
long time and
will not change,
the people
have a duty to
form a new
government.
The third part of the Declaration of
Independence is the longest. It lists
many bad things King George III
has done to the American people.
The fourth part--the actual
declaration--says the colonies have
decided to be independent.
• They are free to make war and peace.
• They can form alliances with other
countries.
• They can trade with other countries.
• They can do
everything that
an independent
country can do.
Representatives from all thirteen
colonies signed the Declaration of
Independence.