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A Declaration
By the Representatives of
the
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
In General Congress
Assembled
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..........
JOHN HANCOCK, President
Attest. CHARLES THOMSON, Secretary
Patrick
Henry, March 23, 1775
I know not what course others
May take but for me,
Give me liberty or give me death! |
Thomas Paine
No one has a right to another
Man’s life, not God,
Not the Race
Not the Dictatorship,
Not the protectorate, not
The Great Society
Nor the New Deal |
Benjamin Franklin
They that can give up
essential liberty to obtain
A little temporary safety
Deserve neither
Liberty nor safety. |
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Charters of Freedom
The Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776
This image of the
Declaration is taken from the engraving made by printer
Rotunda of the
National Archives Building in Washington, DC,
has faded
badly--largely because of poor preservation
techniques during
the 19th century.
Today, this priceless document is maintained under
the most exacting
archival conditions possible.
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Read Declaration
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Sign Declaration
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The Constitution of
the United States
Magna Carta and
Bill of Rights Connection
When representatives of the
young republic of the United States gathered to draft a constitution, they turned to the legal
system they knew and admired--English common law
as evolved from Magna Carta. The conceptual debt to the great charter
is
particularly obvious: the American Constitution is "the Supreme Law of the
Land," just as the rights granted by Magna Carta
were not to be arbitrarily
canceled by subsequent English laws.
This heritage is most
clearly apparent in our Bill of Rights.
The fifth
amendment guarantees No person shall . . . be deprived of life, liberty,
or property, without due process of law
and the sixth states
. . . the accused shall
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury
Written
575 years earlier, Magna Carta declare No freeman shall be
taken, imprisoned,
. . . or in any other way destroyed . . . except by the
lawful judgment of his peers,
or by the law of the land. To no one will we
sell, to none will we deny or delay, right or justice.
....Read More About the
Magna Carter
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The Bill of Rights (Amendments I - X)
 Between 1776 and 1783 the
United States declared and won independence from Great Britain,
defeating one of the greatest military powers in the world. But by the
beginning of 1787, the American experiment in self-government was at
risk of failure, threatened by a variety of escalating problems both at
home and abroad.
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Voting
Record of Constitutional Convention, 1787.
Tis done! . .We have become a nation." Benjamin Rush,
following the ratification of the U.S. Constitution,
July 9, 1788
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How
to Cut a 5-Pointed Star in One Snip
George
Washington's original pencil sketch for the
flag indicated 6-pointed stars, a form he apparently preferred.
Betsy Ross,
however, recommended a 5-pointed star. When the
committee protested that it was too difficult to make, she took a piece
of paper, folded it deftly, and with a single snip of her scissors,
produced a symmetrical five-pointed star. This seeming feat of magic so
impressed her audience that they readily agreed to her suggestion.
Now know the
secret....
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Patrick Henry, March 23,
1775
 Should
I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I
should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an
act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all
earthly kings...
Gentlemen may cry,
Peace,
Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is
actually begun! The next
gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of
resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here
idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so
dear, or peace so weet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and
slavery? Forbid
it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me,
Give
me liberty or give me death!
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