how to cite the declaration of independence in an essay

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How to Cite the Declaration of Independence

Last Updated: January 4, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Gerald Posner and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 60,538 times.

When writing a research paper, you may want to use the Declaration of Independence as a reference – especially if you're writing a paper for history or political science. While you do have to provide some sort of citation information, you typically don't need the same depth of publication information since you're dealing with such a well-known document. Where and how you cite the Declaration of Independence depends on whether you're using Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), or Chicago citation style.

• If you are comparing drafts of the Declaration of Independence, on the other hand, you would include a Works Cited entry for each document you compared. In that case, you would use the format for an unpublished document or a manuscript.

Tip: If you used a particular version of the Declaration of Independence, such as one that had annotations or explanations for the text, your instructor or supervisor may want you to include a Works Cited entry to that particular version. Ask to make sure.

• For example, you might write "The Declaration of Independence asserted that the British monarch was unfit to govern the American people (US 1776)."

• Always enclose any quoted material in quotation marks and mention the name of the Declaration in any sentence where you quote or paraphrase from it.

• Example: Jefferson, T.

• Example: Jefferson, T. (1776).

• Example: Jefferson, T. (1776). The Declaration of Independence .

• Example: Jefferson, T. (1776). The Declaration of Independence . Retrieved from https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/133/historic-american-documents/4957/the-declaration-of-independence/

• For example, you might write: The US was founded on the principle that "all men are created equal" (Jefferson, 1776).

Tip: If you directly mention the Declaration of Independence in the same sentence, a parenthetical citation is likely not necessary. Ask your instructor or supervisor for clarification.

• Example: Jefferson, Thomas.

• Example: Jefferson, Thomas. "The Declaration of Independence."

• Example: Jefferson, Thomas. "The Declaration of Independence." 1776. Retrieved from https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/133/historic-american-documents/4957/the-declaration-of-independence/.

• Example: Thomas Jefferson, "The Declaration of Independence," (1776), retrieved from https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/133/historic-american-documents/4957/the-declaration-of-independence/.

Tip: For a document as well-known as the Declaration of Independence, your instructor or supervisor may not even care about extensive footnotes or a bibliographic entry. Ask for clarification.

Expert Q&A

• You don't need a citation if you're just talking about the document. For example, you might write "The Declaration of Independence was a revolutionary document that set the newly fledged United States on the path to war with Great Britain." No citation would be needed because you're just talking about the Declaration, not quoting or paraphrasing its content. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ https://gbslibguides.glenbrook225.org/c.php?g=514373&p=3561474
• ↑ https://answers.library.georgetown.edu/research/faq/228505
• ↑ https://essaycues.com/how-to-cite-the-declaration-of-independence-the-constitution-and-the-bill-of-rights-in-mla-and-apa/
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/chicago_manual_17th_edition/cmos_formatting_and_style_guide/legal_public_and_unpublished_materials.html

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FAQ: Research Help

How do you cite the declaration of independence.

The first time you reference the work, include the institutional author (US) and date (1776) in your parenthetical reference.

Ex: ". . . in the Declaration of Independence (US 1776)."

Advanced citing:

Note MLA does not use the standard legal format for citations. If your paper includes many legal references, MLA suggests consulting the most recent edition of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation , which can be found it the Lauinger Reference Stacks, KF246 .U5 .

In general, do not italicize, underline, or use quotation marks for the titles of laws, acts, or documents such as the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, or US Code.

The standard format, as recommended in the Bluebook , is the second example here. The symbol "§" means "section".

MLA format:

US Const., art. 1, sec. 1. 

Standard legal format: U.S. Const., Art. I, §8, cl. 8 

(Article 1, section 8, clause 8)

For other citation styles (Chicago, APA, etc), please check the citation manual.

• Citation Help (MLA, Chicago, Zotero, RefWorks etc.)
• Last Updated Apr 11, 2024
• Views 339712
• Answered By Lauinger Reference

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Comments (2)

• What does "cl" mean??? by Robin on Apr 29, 2016
• Greetings, it means "clause." It's a bit hard to find, but the "translation" is at the very end. by Michael Scott on Apr 29, 2016

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Vocabulary Instruction: Everything You Need to Know

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Introduction:

The Declaration of Independence is a crucial document in American history that serves as a symbol of freedom and democracy. When writing a research paper, essay, or report that references this document, it is essential to properly cite the source. In this article, we will explore three easy ways to cite the Declaration of Independence using Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), and Chicago styles.

2.MLA Citation:

In the Modern Language Association (MLA) style, the Declaration of Independence should be cited in the body of your text through parenthetical citation and within your Works Cited page.

Parenthetical Citation: Reference the Declaration in your in-text citation with “United States, Declaration” followed by the paragraph number.

Example: (United States, Declaration para. 2)

Works Cited Entry: Include an entry on your Works Cited page as follows:

United States. “Declaration of Independence.” National Archives, 2024, www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration.

2.APA Citation:

When using the American Psychological Association (APA) citation style, both an in-text citation and a reference list entry are needed.

In-text Citation: Reference the source in your text with “U.S. Declaration of Independence” and paragraph number.

Example: (U.S. Declaration of Independence para. 2)

Reference List Entry: Add an entry to your reference list with the following format:

United States. (1776). Declaration of Independence. National Archives. Retrieved 2024 from https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration

3.Chicago Citation:

Finally, when citing the Declaration of Independence using Chicago style, parenthetical citations should be used in the text and a bibliography page must be included.

Parenthetical Citation: Use “Declaration” followed by the paragraph number.

Example: (Declaration para. 2)

Bibliography Entry: Add an entry to your bibliography page formatted like this:

United States. Declaration of Independence. 1776. National Archives. Accessed 2024. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration

Conclusion:

Properly citing the Declaration of Independence in a paper or report is crucial to maintain academic integrity and accurately credit your sources. Following these guidelines accurately for MLA, APA, or Chicago citation styles will ensure your writing is both professional and respectful of source material. Always double-check with your instructor or editor for any specific citation preferences in your assignment or publication.

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Q. How do I cite the Declaration of Independence in MLA?

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Was this helpful? Yes 27 No 95

Answered By: Katie Hutchison Last Updated: Aug 24, 2016     Views: 98535

If you are citing a web page with information about the Declaration or Constitution (even if it also has the document on it), you should use the Web page citation type.

If you are citing the Declaration or Constitution itself, do not cite it in the works cited list. Both the Declaration and the Constitution are considered well-known documents that are only cited in a parenthetical reference.

In your text, do not underline or use quotation marks for the words Declaration of Independence or Constitution of the United States, just use a parenthetical reference, as below ...in the Declaration of Independence (US 1776). ...In the Constitution of the United States, Article II refers to the "...." (sec.1, cl.3) ...in the U.S. Constitution (art. 2, sec. 1, cl.3.). ...slavery was finally abolished in December 1865 (US Const., amend. XIII).

Comments (2)

• What if the declaration is lesser known, such as the Declaration of Helsinki? (a declaration about the ethics of human research) Surely there must be some way to integrate it into the Works Cited page, right? by Oneilmw on Apr 06, 2017
• @Oneilmw - if you are a Walsh student, please feel free to email the Library with the link to this document and we can help you format your citation. Most likely you would want to cite it as a government document. These can be tricky regardless of citation style. But without the document in front of me, I do not want to speculate. by Katie Hutchison on Apr 17, 2017

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Learn how to cite “Declaration of independence” by

Learn how to create in-text citations and a full citation/reference/note for Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson using the examples below. Declaration of Independence is cited in 14 different citation styles, including MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, APA, ACS, and many others.

If you are looking for additional help, try the EasyBib citation generator .

Popular Citation Styles

Here are Declaration of Independence   citations for five popular citation styles: MLA, APA, Chicago (notes-bibliography), Chicago (author-date), and Harvard style.

Additional Styles

Here are The Declaration of Independence  citations for 14 popular citation styles including Turabian style, the American Medical Association (AMA) style, the Council of Science Editors (CSE) style, IEEE, and more.

Find citation guides for additional books linked here .

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How to Cite the Declaration of Independence in APA Format

A writing style guide is an important resource when trying to emulate a certain style, but it can be next to impossible for a style guide to cover everything you might need to know. The American Psychological Association (APA) style guide, which is preferred within the social sciences, offers many examples of source citations, but it does not provide a specific example for citing the U.S. Declaration of Independence. When citing such a source, the APA style guide recommends finding the example closest to the source and using its citation format.

Assign a number to each paragraph in the Declaration of Independence, starting with "1" for the paragraph that begins, "When in the course." Use the number "2" for the next paragraph, which begins, "We hold these truths." Finish with the paragraph that begins, "We, therefore, the Representatives."

Locate the paragraph containing the text intended for use in your paper, noting the paragraph's number.

Write the citation using the following form: Name of Document, Paragraph Number (Year). This kind of citation always ends with a period.

An APA citation example is: U.S. Declaration of Independence, Paragraph 4 (1776).

Things You'll Need

Need help with a citation? Try our citation generator .

• USHistory.org: The U.S. Declaration of Independence; John Hancock, et al.; 1776
• Purdue University Online Writing Lab: APA Style

Greg Newby's work has appeared in publications such as "The Edmond Sun" and eCapitol's "Capitol News Now." He holds a bachelor's degree in English with an emphasis in creative writing from the University of Central Oklahoma.

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• How to cite the Constitution in MLA

How to Cite the Constitution in MLA | Format & Examples

Published on January 26, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on June 16, 2022.

To cite the Constitution of the United States in MLA style , include information about where you accessed it in the Works Cited entry. In the in-text citation, use article/amendment and section numbers instead of page numbers.

The example below shows how to cite an online version of the constitution.

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Table of contents

Citing a print version of the constitution, referring to the constitution in your text, frequently asked questions about mla citations.

The Constitution has also been published in book form in various editions. To cite one of these, write the title of the book in italics, and list any editors, annotators, or other main contributors to the edition after the title.

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When mentioning the Constitution in your paper, you can generally just call it the Constitution without italicization or quotation marks.

In the parenthetical citation, you should specify the version cited (to match the first words of the Works Cited entry).

• As stated in “The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription,” … (art. 1, sec. 4).
• As stated in the Constitution, … (“Constitution of the United States,” art. 1, sec. 4).

Use the abbreviations “art.” (Article), “amend.” (Amendment), and “sec.” (Section) as appropriate in your citations; convert any roman numerals used in the text to arabic numerals (e.g. “XIV” becomes “14”).

If a source has no author, start the MLA Works Cited entry with the source title . Use a shortened version of the title in your MLA in-text citation .

If a source has no page numbers, you can use an alternative locator (e.g. a chapter number, or a timestamp for a video or audio source) to identify the relevant passage in your in-text citation. If the source has no numbered divisions, cite only the author’s name (or the title).

If you already named the author or title in your sentence, and there is no locator available, you don’t need a parenthetical citation:

• Rajaram  argues that representations of migration are shaped by “cultural, political, and ideological interests.”
• The homepage of The Correspondent describes it as “a movement for radically different news.”

Yes. MLA style uses title case, which means that all principal words (nouns, pronouns , verbs, adjectives , adverbs , and some conjunctions ) are capitalized.

This applies to titles of sources as well as the title of, and subheadings in, your paper. Use MLA capitalization style even when the original source title uses different capitalization .

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Caulfield, J. (2022, June 16). How to Cite the Constitution in MLA | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved September 3, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/mla/constitution-citation/

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Citation guides

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How to cite “Declaration of independence” by Thomas Jefferson

Apa citation.

Formatted according to the APA Publication Manual 7 th edition. Simply copy it to the References page as is.

If you need more information on APA citations check out our APA citation guide or start citing with the BibguruAPA citation generator .

Jefferson, T. (1997). Declaration of independence . Applewood Books.

Chicago style citation

Formatted according to the Chicago Manual of Style 17 th edition. Simply copy it to the References page as is.

If you need more information on Chicago style citations check out our Chicago style citation guide or start citing with the BibGuru Chicago style citation generator .

Jefferson, Thomas. 1997. Declaration of Independence . Jackson, MS: Applewood Books.

MLA citation

Formatted according to the MLA handbook 9 th edition. Simply copy it to the Works Cited page as is.

If you need more information on MLA citations check out our MLA citation guide or start citing with the BibGuru MLA citation generator .

Jefferson, Thomas. Declaration of Independence . Applewood Books, 1997.

Other citation styles (Harvard, Turabian, Vancouver, ...)

BibGuru offers more than 8,000 citation styles including popular styles such as AMA, ASA, APSA, CSE, IEEE, Harvard, Turabian, and Vancouver, as well as journal and university specific styles. Give it a try now: Cite Declaration of independence now!

Publication details

This is not the edition you are looking for? Check out our BibGuru citation generator for additional editions.

MLA Citation Resources

• Common Web Resources (basic web sites, journal articles, government reports, tv programs, TED Talks, movies, Art/Photos, AI outputs)
• GBS Subject Area & Reference Databases & E-books (Gale Reference eBooks, Very Short Introductions, etc.)
• Books & E-Books (includes examples of one author, two authors, etc. that are applicable to any source type)
• Magazines, Newspapers & Journals (in GBS Library Databases, on the Web and in Print )
• Social Media/ User Generated Sources (Flickr, Twitter, blogs, DIY YouTube videos & Podcasts.)
• Legal & Legislative Resources (ibills, laws, US Supreme Court cases, US Constitution, etc.)
• Other Common Sources (Interviews, Cartoons, Editorials, Reviews, Letters to the Editor & DVDs)
• In-Text Citations and Works Cited Examples for Sources with One Author, Two Authors, No Named Author, etc.
• Video Tutorial for creating Hanging Indents for Works Cited in Google Docs

Sample Citation for US Federal Legislation

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Sample Citation for a US Supreme Court Case

Legal and Legislative Sources in MLA 

 Here are some guidelines for citing laws, acts, US Supreme Court cases and other political documents in MLA.

For published US government reports, see the section on Reports from Corporate, Government & Non-Governmental Organization Authors   on the Common Web Resources page of this guide. If you have any questions, ask a friendly librarian. 

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution

According to the Georgetown University Library, it is not necessary to cite the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution in your Works Cited as they are such well known works. You must  cite them in your text.  

Here is how the Georgetown Library recommends citing them in-text:

Declaration of Independence

The first time you mention the Declaration of Independence in your text, add the institutional author (US) and date (1776) in parentheses.

Example: The Declaration of Independence states that the government's "just power" is derived "from the consent of the governed"  (US 1776).

When you refer to the document after that, you can omit the  (US 1776). 

U.S. Constitution

When you are citing the U.S. Constitution, if you are citing a particular section of the document, you should mention the specific article, section, and clause in your document. There is no standardized method provided by the MLA, so the Georgetown Library recommends the following methods. 

Example 1:  The Constitution of the United States, Article I (sec. 7, cl. 1) dictates that all revenue bills must originate in the House of Representatives. 

Example 2: The U.S. Constitution (art. 1, sec. 7, cl. 1) dictates that all revenue bills must originate in the House of Representatives. 

See the  Georgetown Library's answer page  for more  information on citing these two documents .

Bills, Laws, and Similar Political Documents

Because we are a high school, the GBS Library recommends keeping entries for these types of legal resources simple. If you wish to include the bill number and the number of the Congressional session, place them at the end as you would any Optional Elements.   See MLA's website for more information on citing legal sources. If you are interested in more sophisticated legal citations, MLA recommends consulting the Chicago Manual of Style .

Key things to keep in mind:

Do not italicize the titles of laws, acts, or similar political documents or put them in quotation marks. Capitalize them as you would any other source title.

     Librarian of Congress Succession Modernization Act of 2015

      Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015.

When citing government entities as authors, begin with the largest and proceed to the smallest with commas between them:

     United States, Congress, House. 

      United States, Congress, Senate.

Format for Federal Bills (on the Web) :

United States, Congress, House or Senate. Title of Bill . Title of Website (Container 2), Location (URL).

      United States, Congress, House. Microbead-Free  Waters Act of 2015. Congress.gov , 

         https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/1321. 

When citing several entities from the same government in your Works Cited, substitute three hyphens for each entity listed previously:

United States, Congress, House.   Microbead-Free  Waters Act of 2015. Congress.gov , 

---, ---, Senate.   Librarian of Congress Succession Modernization Act of 2015.  Congress.gov, 

            https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2162.

Executive Orders

Executive orders, which are actions issued by the President and have the force of law, have become more common in recent years. Because we are a high school, the GBS librarians recommend omitting the Executive order number and using only the title. Executive orders are not italicized.

Format for Executive Orders (on the Web) :

United States, Executive Office of the President [First Name Last Name]. Title of the Executive Order. Date Issued.

        Title of Website   (Container),  Location (URL).

United States, Executive Office of the President [Barack Obama]. Imposing Additional Sanctions with Respect to North Korea.

         20 Sep. 2017. Federal Register , https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/09/25/2017-20647/

          imposing-additional-sanctions-with-respect-to-north-korea.

US Supreme Court Cases

Unlike laws, acts, and executive orders, the names of court cases are italicized:

       Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

     Romer v. Evans

For more details on citing US Supreme Court decisions & dissenting opinions, see the MLA website .

  Format for US Supreme Court Decisions (on the Web) :

United States, Supreme Court. Name of Plaintiff v. Name of Defendant. Date of Court Decision.  

        Title of Website  ( Container 2), Location (URL).

United States, Supreme Court. Romer v. Evans.  20 May 1996. FindLaw, 

         https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme- court/517/620.html.

  Format for Dissenting Opinions :

Last Name, Name of Justice.   Dissenting opinion.   Name of Plaintiff v. Name of Defendant. Date of Court Decision.  

       Tit le of Website   (Container 2), Location (URL).

Breyer, Stephen. Dissenting opinion. Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union. 29 June 2004. Justia , 

          https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/542/656/#tab-opinion-1961638.

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Teaching Text Rhetorically

Integrating Reading and Writing Instruction by John R. Edlund

The Declaration of Independence as an Argumentative Essay

The first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence (hereafter called the “Declaration”) is the hook that announces to the reader what the document will do. It argues that “when in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another,” responsible people will explain why. This is an interesting way to establish ethos at the very beginning, as the writers have been called “the ringleaders of the American revolt” and “a few ambitious, interested, and designing men,” and worse, by such figures as George Campbell , who also called their supporters “deluded fellow subjects.” If responsible people who have “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind” should explain their causes, and they are explaining their causes, they must be responsible people. It is only logical.

It is the second paragraph, however, that is most famous, and deservedly so. It introduces what Aristotle would call an “enthymeme” with five tightly linked assumed premises. However, while assumed premises are often tacit and hidden, in this case the assumptions are overtly and boldly admitted with the phrase, “We hold these truths to be self-evident,” simultaneously acknowledging that they are not going to try to prove these claims, but also challenging the reader to dispute them. These assumptions are

• 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

These are pretty grand assumptions. If we accept them, it follows that what they have to do is show that the British government is destroying the unalienable rights of the colonists to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And this is exactly what they try to do, in 29 paragraphs that read like the whereas clauses of a committee resolution. Though most of the disagreement is with the British parliament, the writers and signers of the Declaration choose to focus their anger on the king, George III. They document a multitude of grievances, including

• refusing to pass necessary laws
• dissolving legislative bodies that don’t agree with him, or causing them to meet in difficult, inaccessible places
• preventing population increase by obstructing the naturalization of foreigners
• appointing judges and other officers that work for him instead of the people
• keeping a standing army in the colonies in peacetime and making the colonists provide food and lodging for soldiers
• preventing the colonies from trading with whomever they want to
• taxing the colonies without their consent
• depriving the colonists of jury trials and sending them to England for trial on false charges
• forcibly recruiting American sailors into the Royal Navy

Blaming George III for all this is clearly a rhetorical move. The king becomes a convenient scapegoat for all this misery, whereas parliament is a more diverse and complex foe. Another reason is that the American revolution pits Enlightenment values against feudal monarchy. In Britain, the parliament provides aspects of democratic rule, but the system still includes the House of Lords and a monarch. The Enlightenment and feudal trappings coexist. The Americans, however, are declaring themselves no longer to be subjects of the king, as well as declaring that “all men are equal,” denying nobility as a concept. This is a big deal.

Having made these arguments, the Declaration concludes that the united colonies are absolved of any allegiance to the British crown and henceforth have all the rights and responsibilities of free and independent states.

Strictly speaking, the argument is perhaps proven, but the initial premises are not. Of course, Englishmen immediately asked how men who owned slaves could believe that all men were created equal. However, charging hypocrisy is not the same as arguing against the premise. One can also argue in favor of tradition and preserving the monarchy, but even at the time, that sounds like arguing against progress and history. Stating that the premises are “self-evident,” which initially looks like an argumentative weakness, turns out to be a rhetorical trap and a brilliant move. It is a very interesting document.

Update: Here is a much more detailed rhetorical analysis of the Declaration with lots of historical context:

The Stylistic Artistry of the Declaration of Independence by Stephen E. Lucas

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Good read. It was a reminder of the existence of the DoI and a great argument.

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How do I use MLA citations and list of works cited in a PowerPoint presentation?

To cite sources in a slide presentation, MLA suggests including brief citations on each slide that includes material from your sources, including quotations, summaries and paraphrases, images, or data. Include a works-cited list on a slide at the end of your presentation. MLA also suggests providing your list of sources to your audience, either through a URL or printed copy that you hand out in your presentation. For more details, see the MLA Handbook , 8th ed., pp. 127-28.

How do I cite email?

When you document an email in your list of works cited, make sure t o include a reference to yourself, either by name or as author, as the Title of Source element.

Leon, Patrick. E-mail to the author. 15 February 2023.

Leon, Patrick. E-mail to Aimee Alicia. 15 February 2023.

What is a container?

Containers were first mentioned in the 8th edition of the MLA Handbook . Containers are the larger wholes in which the source is located. For example, if you want to cite a work (e.g. essay, short story, poem) from an anthology, the individual work is the source, while the anthology is the container. The title of the container is usually italicized and followed by a comma, since the information that follows next provides more information about the container. A container could also be a television series, which is made up of episodes, or a website, which contains articles and postings.

Gregerson, Linda. “The Sower against Gardens.” On Louise Glück: Change What You See, edited by Joanne Feit Diehl, University of Michigan Press, 2005, pp. 28-47.

“The Pontiac Bandit.” Brooklyn Nine-Nine , created by Dan Goor and Michael Schur, performance by Andy Samberg, season 1, episode 12, Fremulon, 2014.

What is a DOI?

A DOI, or digital object identifier, is a series of digits and letters that permanently leads to the location of an online source. Articles in journals are often assigned DOIs by the publisher to ensure that the source is locatable, even if the URL changes. Typically, the DOI is considered better than the URL. However, there are advantages and disadvantages to using URLs and DOIs, so the preference of you instructor, institution, or publisher is most important.

Imada, Adria L. “Transnational Hula as Colonial Culture.” The Journal of Pacific History , vol. 46, no. 2, Sept. 2011, pp. 150-176. EBSCO , doi: 10.1080/00223344.2011.607260.

Do I need to include a URL when I document online sources in my list of works cited?

The  MLA Handbook (9 th edition) prefers the DOI to the URL. However, it also recognizes that the URL can provide information of where the work was found and link your audience to your sources in digital works. If you’re unsure about whether to include the URL, double check with your instructor. Different instructors may have different preferences.

Gay, Roxane. “Who Gets to be Angry?” The New York Times , 10 June 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/opinion/sunday/who-gets-to-be-angry.html?_r=0

When the title of a newspaper begins with an article (the, a, an) do I need to include it when I list the title in my citation?

This change was first introduced in the eighth edition handbook. Previously, MLA did not require the article in the title of a periodical (newspaper, journal, magazine), but the updated handbook states that the article should now be considered part of the title. The article should be capitalized and italicized. For example, refer to The New York Times , (rather than New York Times ), when citing it in your text or works-cited list.

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Theile, Verena and Linda Tredennick, editors. New Formalism and Literary Theory . Kindle ed., Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

How do I cite a tweet?

The full text of the tweet should be your title. Enclose the text in quotation marks, and include the date, time, and URL.

@loudpositivity. “Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.” Twitter , 27 May 2019, 12:17 p.m., https://twitter.com/loudpositivity/status/1133029562953142273.

If the author’s online handle is different from the account name, provide the handle in square bracket after the name.

Kass, Leon [@pianoman726] “Many (many) more professional photos to come. But this is one of the very few photos I took myself and I mean!”   Twitter , 3 Srptember 2017, 3:03 p.m., twitter.com/pianoman726/status/ 752985641261162496.

How do I cite a book that I accessed online?

Cite the book just like you would if it were in print. Then add the name of the database or website you used to access the online book, and add a URL or other location indicator at the end of the citation.

Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland . Macmillan, 1865. eBook edition (Project Gutenberg). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11.

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Author. “Title of Manuscript/Document.”.  date of composition (at least year), along with "the name and location of the library, research institution, or personal collection housing the material."

Henderson, George Wylie. Baby Lou and the Angel Bud. 22 July 1991. Collection of Roslyn Kirkland Allen, New York.

How do I cite the US Constitution?

References to the US consitution in the body of your text should be written as “the Constitution.” If you are only discussing it based on general knowledge, you do not need to cite it. However, if you are using a named edition, you should treat it like the title of the book:

The Constitution of the United States, with Case Summaries. Edited by Edward Conrad Smith, 9th ed., Barnes and Noble Books, 1972. 

If you use a named edition, your in-text citations should help your readers locate the exact entry in the Works Cited:

( Constitution of the United States, with Case Summaries)

Keep in mind for citations of any constitution, including the US, the country of origin should be specified if the title does not indicate what country the constitution belongs to:

France. Le constitution. 4 October 1958. Legifrance, www.legifrance.gouv.fr/Droit-francais/Constitution/Constitution-du-4-octobre-1958.

For more information on citing legal documents, refer to the MLA Style Center’s page on Documenting Legal Works in MLA Style.

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“Moist, Adj. (1) ” Merrian-Webster, 2023. wwww.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/content . Accessed 15 July 2022.

How do I cite a footnote?

The ninth edition MLA handbook does not address this question, but one entry in the online MLA Style Center does provide a set of directions for this task . This page states that a citation for another author’s footnote in your own text should include the following, in parentheses: author’s name, the page number, the letter n (to indicate note), and the note number.

There are no spaces between the page number, the letter n, and the note number.

(Smith 123n6)

If you refer to multiple notes, use nn and separate the note numbers from the page number by using brackets.

(Smith 82 [nn 2, 3, 6])

How do I cite genealogies and birth/death certificates?

Although MLA does not offer any guidelines on how to handle genealogies and birth certificates, a few websites offer their own resources and citation methods to follow:

Genealogy.com   offers a method of citing birth/death certificates. Follow the link and scroll down to “Official Records.”

In addition, Archive.gov offers a leaflet called  Citing Records in the National Archives of the United States .

How do I cite the information from food nutrition labels?

The MLA does not generally require you to create works-cited-list entries for nutrition labels. You can instead provide a simple description of the product in the sentence or in a note.

Example (in a sentence):

According to a 2019 package of Quaker Steel Cut Oats—a product by the Quaker Oats Company, “3 grams of soluble fiber from oatmeal daily in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease.

Example (in a note):

 As noted on a package of Quaker Steel Cut Oats: “3 grams of soluble fiber from oatmeal daily in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease.” 1

1.  Quaker Steel Cut Oats are sold by the Quaker Oats Company. This package was produced in 2019.

In the event that your writing deals extensively with nutrition (such that nutrition labels serve as important sources of evidence), you may optionally create works-cited and treat them as you would any other source. Make sure to include the core elements, in the proper order, and provide as much information as your readers will need to locate the source.

“Nutrition Label of Quaker Steel Cut Oats.” Quaker Oats Company, Chicago, IL, 2019.

How do I cite an informational plaque or an information card?

Treat informational plaques/cards as you would any other source. Make sure to include the core elements, in the proper order, and provide as much information as your readers will need to locate the source. Use the title of the plaque as the title of your source. If you have experienced an object firsthand, such as in a museum, give the name of the place, the city in which it is located, and the dates of the exhibition.

“Alexander McQueen’s Gothic.” Gothic to Goth: Romantic Era Fashion and its Legacy , Wadsworth Athenaeum , Hartford, Connecticut, March 5-July 10, 2016.

When I am repeatedly quoting or paraphrasing the same source in my paper, do I have to keep citing that source at the end of each sentence?

When you reference the same source more than once in the same paragraph, and no other source intervenes, you may give the in-text citation just once at the end of the paragraph. If, however, this technique creates any ambiguity about your reference, it is better to cite the source every time you reference it.

For example:

This makes clear that the first quotation is from the first page number in the parentheses, and the second quotation is from the second number.

There are other ways to do this as well. You may cite the author’s name with the page number after the first direct quotation, and just list the page number after the second quotation.

If I quote from two different sources in the same sentence, how do I cite both?

While the MLA does not prohibit references to more than one source in the same sentence, it is generally best to begin a new sentence when referring to a new source. Your goal is to present your information as clearly as possible so that your readers can best follow your points. With that in mind, if you find yourself attempting to cite two sources in the same sentence, chances are, your ideas will be clearer if you break them into two sentences.

If I “just know” a fact or idea (something I learned in high school, for example), do I have to cite my high school course or textbook?

This question falls under the issue of common knowledge. Common knowledge generally includes biographical information, dates of historical events, and other undisputed, widely available information. If you think that your average, reasonable reader already accepts this information as fact, it is not necessary to document it.

• Law & Constitutionalism
• The Declaration of Independence and the American Theory of Government
• Randy E. Barnett The Declaration of Independence and the American Theory of Government
• Related Media
• The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain

Randy E. Barnett

August 28, 2024.

Our country—indeed our people—has a discrete starting point, a singular moment in time when its founding was expressly defended in abstract and theoretical terms—a particular date in which the Congress of the United States unanimously articulated the American theory of government. That moment was July 4, 1776, when the Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence. To appreciate the nature of the American theory of government, and the Constitution that was later adopted in accordance with that theory, we must begin at the beginning, some thirteen years before the Constitution was enacted in 1788, when the principles upon which the new nation was formed were authoritatively declared.

Drafting the Declaration

On June 11, 1776, the Continental Congress appointed a committee to draft a declaration to effectuate Richard Henry Lee’s motion “[t]hat 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 connexion between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.” This was the legal purpose of the Declaration. In addition, as John Hancock later put it, such a declaration would provide “the Ground & Foundation of a future Government.”

The Committee of Five consisted of the senior Pennsylvanian Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, New York’s Robert Livingston, the Massachusetts stalwart champion of independence John Adams, and a rather quiet thirty-three-year-old Virginian named Thomas Jefferson. After a series of meetings to decide on the outline of the Declaration, the committee assigned Jefferson to write the first draft.

Jefferson did not have much time. With no executive, the war was being run entirely by congressional committees, and the business of waging war pressed heavily on its members. Over a six-month period, Jefferson served on some thirty-four different committees, which kept him very busy. On June 17, for example, the committee overseeing the Canadian campaign submitted two reports to Congress, both in Jefferson’s own hand. Two members of the Virginia delegation had left Philadelphia, increasing the pressure on Jefferson to attend the sessions of Congress.

So with the press of other matters, Jefferson did not have three leisurely weeks to write. He had merely a few days. Needing to work fast, Jefferson had to borrow. Historian Pauline Maier tells us that he had two sources in front of him from which to crib. The first was a list of grievances in his draft preamble for the Virginia constitution—a list that was strikingly similar to the first group of charges against the king that ended up in the Declaration. The second was a preliminary version of the Virginia Declaration of Rights that had been drafted by George Mason in his room at the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg, where the provincial convention was being held.

Mason’s May 27 draft proved handy indeed in composing the Declaration’s famous preamble. Its first two articles present two fundamental ideas. The first idea is that first come rights and then comes government . Here is how Mason expressed it:

THAT all men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent natural rights, of which they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; among which are, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.

So, in Mason’s draft, not only do all persons have “certain . . . natural rights” of life, liberty, and property, but these rights cannot be taken away “by any compact.” These inherent individual natural rights, of which the people cannot divest their posterity, are therefore retained by them. Mason’s words would become even more canonical than Jefferson’s more succinct version in the Declaration of Independence, as variations were incorporated into several state constitutions. Later James Madison proposed they be added to the preamble of the Constitution by way of an amendment. That did not happen, but Mason’s description of retained rights would be echoed in the Ninth Amendment, and much later in the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Article 2 of Mason’s draft then identified the persons who comprise a government as the servants of the sovereign people, rather than their master: “That all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people; that magistrates are their trustees and servants , and at all times amenable to them.” As trustees and servants, those people who serve as governing magistrates are to respect the inherent natural rights retained by the people.

Jefferson then compressed all this into fifty-five compelling words:

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.

John Adams later recalled that Jefferson took only a day or two to write the first draft, which was then turned over to the committee for its feedback before it was submitted to Congress. Although this draft was then heavily edited and shortened by Congress sitting as a Committee of the Whole, its Preamble was left pretty much as Jefferson had submitted it.

The American Theory of Government

I turn now to that Preamble, for these two paragraphs identify what is nothing less than the American theory of government. While the passage I just quoted is familiar, its component parts must be separated out. 

(a) “[A]ll men are created equal . . . .” This is an affirmation of the fundamental equality of each individual person. It speaks not of groups, but of individuals. Indeed, as the original draft read before it was edited, “all men are created equal and independent; that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable.” (b) The Declaration refers to “ certain unalienable Rights .” What does it mean to say a right is inalienable or unalienable? It means it cannot be surrendered up to the general government. 

Recall Mason’s draft, which stated that “[a]ll men are born equally free and independent and have certain inherent natural rights of which they cannot by any compact deprive or divest their posterity.” (emphasis added.) Inalienable rights are those that cannot be given up by the adoption of a compact or a constitution. They continue to exist as a standard against which the performance of government is to be assessed.

(c) Next, “ among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness .” Once again, this succinctly echoes Mason’s draft Declaration of Rights, which referred to “the Enjoyment of Life and Liberty, with the Means of acquiring and possessing Property, and pursuing and obtaining Happiness and Safety.” Notice that each of these rights belongs to the people as individuals. They are not group rights. They are not collective rights. They are the individual rights of We the People, each and every one.  (d) We now arrive at what may be the most important sentence identifying the American theory of government: “ That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed .” The expressly stated end of government is to “secure” the individual inalienable natural “rights” named in the preceding sentence. Moreover, governments are “instituted among Men.” Governments are not to be equated with the People themselves, but are rather composed of a subset of the People as their agents. 

In sum, governments are established as a means of securing the individual rights of each and every individual person, and the effective protection of these individual rights is the end against which such governments are to be judged. Because of the failure of the British government to fulfill the political function of securing the rights of each one of us, the Declaration concludes that “these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, Free and Independent States . . . and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved.” 

The political theory announced in the Declaration of Independence can be summed up in a single sentence: First come rights, and then comes government. This proposition is not, as some would say, a libertarian theory of government. Nor is it my theory of government. The Declaration of Independence established it as the officially-adopted American theory of government.    

• According to the American theory of government, the rights of individuals do not originate with any government but pre-exist its formation;   
• According to the American theory of government, the protection of these rights is both the purpose and first duty of government;   
• According to the American theory of government, at least some of these rights are so fundamental that they are inalienable, meaning that they are so intimately connected to one’s nature as a human being, that they cannot be transferred to another even if one consents to do so;   
• According to the American theory of government, because these rights are inalienable, even after a government is formed, they provide a standard by which its performance is measured; in extreme cases, a government’s systemic violation of these rights or failure to protect them can justify its alteration and abolition. In the words of the Declaration, “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends,” that is the securing of these rights, “it is the Right of the People to alter or 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 what about the passage “deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”? Notice that, according to this passage, governments may exercise not all powers, not unlimited powers, but only their “ just powers.” A just power is one that is within the competence of a legitimate government, which the Declaration defines as one that secures the inalienable natural rights of We the People, each and every one. 

Does the reference to “the consent of the governed” entail that the inalienable rights of We the People, as individuals, can be altered or abolished by popularly-elected legislators supposedly representing the consent of the governed? Hardly. Representative government is merely one means among several to the ends of protecting what the Ninth Amendment refers to as the “rights . . . retained by the people.” Neither by acts of legislation nor by the Constitution itself may the people “divest their posterity” of these inalienable rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 

So, the “consent of the governed” is not about popular governance by a representative assembly superseding (rather than “securing”) pre-existing individual rights. What, then, is this passage about? It’s about which government is to govern the independent polity that the Declaration is legally establishing: the polity of the American people. Will the American people be governed by the Crown and Parliament of Great Britain or by the governments of the United States? Will it be governed by separate state governments, a consolidated national government, or some combination of state and national governments? The “consent of the governed passage” addresses the matter of “ who governs.” It is not about ”democratic” or majoritarian governance. 

Indeed, in his essay, the “The Vices of the Political System of the United States,” written in preparation for the Philadelphia convention, James Madison identified the democratic majoritarianism of the states as one of the fundamental problems that a new constitution was needed to solve. Under the heading the “Injustice of the laws of States.” Madison traced the cause of “this evil” to “the Representative bodies” in the states and, ultimately, to “the people themselves.” The experience of majoritarian state governments, he concluded, called “into question the fundamental principle of republican Government, that the majority who rule in such Governments, are the safest Guardians both of public Good and of private rights.”

To illustrate the problem with democratic majoritarianism, Madison posed the following thought experiment: “Place three individuals in a situation wherein the interest of each depends on the voice of the others, and give to two of them an interest opposed to the rights of the third? Will the latter be secure? The prudence of every man would shun the danger.” Likewise, will “two thousand in a like situation be less likely to encroach on the rights of one thousand? The contrary

is witnessed by the notorious factions & oppressions which take place in corporate towns limited as the opportunities are, and in little republics when uncontrouled by apprehensions of external danger.”

Nor was Madison alone in questioning the democratic majoritarianism of the states. Several delegates in Philadelphia expressed the same concern. Elbridge Gerry from Massachusetts stated: “The evils we experience flow from the excess of democracy.” After listing a number of abuses, he admitted that he “had been too republican heretofore.” He “was still however republican, but had been taught by experience the danger of the levilling spirit.” Experience, he claimed, had shown “that the State legislatures drawn immediately from the people did not always possess their confidence.”

Roger Sherman, of Connecticut, contended that the people “immediately should have as little to do as may be about the Government.” Virginian Edmund Randolph observed that “the general object was to provide a cure for the evils under which the U.S. laboured,” and that “in tracing these evils to their origin every man had found it in the turbulence and follies of democracy.”

Gouverneur Morris, a delegate from Pennsylvania who is credited with helping select the actual wording of the Constitution, noted that “[e]very man of observation had seen in the democratic branches of the State Legislatures, precipitation—in Congress changeableness, in every department excesses against personal liberty private property & personal safety.” Finally, George Mason of Virginia, “admitted that we had been too democratic” in forming state governments though he “was afraid that we should incautiously run into the opposite extreme.”

Which is not to say that the founders did not see a great value in democratic checks on the people’s agents in government. These checks continue to be of utmost importance to our republican form of government. But majoritarian checks on government power are not the same as an unchecked majoritarian power to govern —a concept extolled by New Dealers and by some conservatives today. The Declaration’s reference to “the consent of the governed” was not an affirmation of such a potentially tyrannical power. For current examples of such democratic majoritarian tyranny abetted by parliamentary supremacy, we need look no farther than the United Kingdom and Canada.

Of course, the original public meaning of the text of the Declaration of Independence is distinct from the original public meaning of the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution, however it should be interpreted, does not justify itself. To be legitimate, what it says must be consistent with political principles that are capable of justifying it. The Declaration articulates the American theory of government that our founders rightly thought justified government.

Moreover, these same publicly-identified original principles are needed to inform how the original public meaning of the Constitution is to be faithfully applied when the text of the Constitution is not by itself specific enough to decide a case or controversy. The original principles that the Founders thought underlie and justify the Constitution were neither shrouded in mystery nor to be found by parsing the writings of Locke, Montesquieu, or Machiavelli. The American theory of government was officially articulated and adopted in the Declaration of Independence.

How the Constitution Implements the American Theory of Government

After the Declaration established the American people as an independent polity, there were then two cracks at government. The first, the Articles of Confederation, operated like a treaty between separate and sovereign state governments. 

When the Articles were in effect, many states adopted protectionist measures that favored their own business and agricultural interests and discriminated against the economic activities of citizens of other states. These independent states also entered into their own trade agreements with foreign countries thereby undercutting Congress’s efforts to negotiate trade agreements with the far more powerful countries of Britain, France, or Spain. In addition, the country lacked a military sufficient to protect it from these European military powers who each continued to maintain a presence in North America. Then, after the Revolution, the U.S. suffered a severe economic depression, which some attributed to these protectionist policies of state governments and the lack of an effective foreign trade policy.

For all these reasons, activists like James Madison of Virginia, James Wilson of Pennsylvania, and Governeur Morris of New York pushed for a constitutional convention to propose alterations to the existing form of government. Soon, that convention decided that a new constitution, operating by different principles was needed. Of course, like Congress, the delegates to the convention lacked authority to adopt any constitution. That authority remained with the American people in their respective states.

The new Constitution proposed by the delegates to the people of the states established a more powerful, but still limited, national government. Rather than replace the existing state governments, the Framers chose to superimpose a new national government on top of the states, creating a novel system of dual sovereignty. The sovereignty of the states would be limited to the extent that the national government was delegated the powers to address such national issues as the regulation of commerce with foreign nations and among the several states; to establish post offices and post roads; and to establish both a national army and navy to protect against foreign threats. These new national powers would supersede any state powers over these subjects, thereby limiting the powers of the states–especially with respect to regulating commerce. The new national government would also have the power to establish taxation to pay for its proper functions. No longer would the national government be dependent on the fickleness of states for its funding.

Moreover, the new Constitution was to be ratified by the people of the states in conventions, not by the states themselves through their legislatures. Acting state-by-state, convention delegates of the sovereign people themselves would have to withdraw some measure of delegated powers from their own state governments and then delegate these powers instead to the new national government.

So the first function of the written Constitution was to empower a new national government better “to secure” the pre-existing rights of We the People, each and every one. So empowered, however, such a national government itself posed a threat to the rights retained by the people. So the second function of the written Constitution was to limit the new national government to its just powers.

To this end, the federal government was formally divided into three distinct branches or departments—as Montesquieu had recommended—each exercising what John Locke had identified as the three essential powers of government: the legislative power was given to Congress, the executive power was granted to the President, and the judicial power to the Supreme Court and any inferior courts that Congress might establish.

When Anti-federalist opponents complained that this separation of powers was not adequate to protect the natural rights retained by the people, Federalist proponents of the Constitution promised to consider amendments that would better protect these rights and liberties. After 11 states had ratified the Constitution–with Rhode Island and North Carolina still withholding their consent–James Madison pushed the first Congress to adopt a series of amendments that became what we today call the Bill of Rights. 

However, these amendments only limited the new national government; they did not limit the powers of the states. It was the grant of powers to Congress by the people in each state, not the Bill of Rights, that limited the powers of state governments.

In this manner did the Constitution—our second crack at government—seek to implement the American theory of government.

But What About Slavery?

In recent years, it has become tediously de rigueur to dismiss the Declaration and the Constitution as mere instruments of white male slave holders. These men were not only evil, we are repeatedly told, but hypocrites besides in their assertion that “all men are created equal.” As part of a broader culture war, the object of this exercise is to delegitimize both documents, indeed to delegitimize the American founding and even America herself. 

The facts tell an entirely different story.

As Princeton University historian Sean Wilentz has noted in his important book, No Property in Man: Slavery and Antislavery at the Nation’s Founding , “[i]n 1775, five days before the battles of Lexington and Concord, ten Philadelphians, seven of them Quakers, founded the first antislavery society in world history, the Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage.” This group was later reorganized as the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery.

Just five months after the Declaration, in January of 1777, the Vermont Republic was founded as an independent state. Its constitution barred slavery by declaring that “all men are born equally free and independent.” The constitution of the Vermont Republic was the first constitution in human history to abolish slavery. This language was borrowed directly from George Mason’s draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which Jefferson had condensed in the Declaration. 

Mason’s language was also included in the Massachusetts constitution. Four years before the Constitution was drafted in Philadelphia, in three cases decided between 1781 and 1783, the Massachusetts high court relied on this language to hold chattel slavery unconstitutional in that state. (So much for the myth, embraced by many conservatives, that what we call “judicial review” was invented by John Marshall in Marbury v. Madison in 1803.)

This timeline is most important. In 1776, when the United States of America was founded, the legal institution of slavery existed in every state in the union. But by 1787—when the Constitution was being written in Philadelphia—five of these states had abolished or begun to abolish slavery. Then, in 1791, the free state of Vermont became the fourteenth state of the Union, bringing the count to six. In 1799, New York began the process of emancipation by enacting a gradual abolition law. Five years later, New Jersey followed with its own gradual emancipation law.

Were this chronology not enough to rebut the trendy dismissal of the Declaration and our Founding, during the same summer that the Philadelphia convention was deliberating over a new constitution, the Articles of Confederation Congress, sitting in New York, enacted “An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States North-West of the River Ohio.” Adopted on July 13, 1787, the Northwest Ordinance contained the following language: “There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” It was this language that the Republicans in Congress copied when drafting the Thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery in the whole of the United States. 

Thus was slavery abolished in 1787 from a vast area of the United States, which included the future states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and about a third of what later became Minnesota. In a sign of the times, the Northwest Ordinance was approved by delegations from every state, including every delegate of every slave state . 

This is a remarkable amount of progress towards implementing the political theory of the Declaration in a very short period—a mere eleven years! Yet, as we all know, this progress was stopped in its tracks. Historians generally agree that what stymied this antislavery tide was the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1791. By mechanically separating the cotton fiber from the sticky seeds, which formerly had to be done by hand, the plantation farming of cotton using slave labor became enormously profitable. Later the invention of the steam engine made it feasible to more cheaply transport cotton north via the Mississippi as well as along the coast.

Prior to these technological developments, when the Constitution was drafted, slavery was widely viewed as an economically dying institution. After technology made plantation cotton farming highly lucrative, however, for the first time in America there arose a pro-slavery ideology that increased in its vehemence over time.

But what matters for evaluating the Declaration, and the original Constitution that was adopted to implement its principles, is not what came soon after both documents were drafted. What matters is the fact that the Declaration and the Constitution were both written before this change occurred. The Constitution was written on the cusp of half the states in the union turning away from slavery, and the Northwest Ordinance barring slavery in the territories from which future states would be formed. It was written before the rise of a pro-slavery ideology arrested what seemed like an inevitable and rapid progress towards a United States that was fully consistent with the principles officially adopted in the Declaration of Independence. 

In short, when the Constitution was written in 1787 in accordance with the American theory of government as articulated by both the Declaration and Mason’s draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the United States was on the leading edge of the movement to end the world-wide practice of chattel slavery. And because the founders formed a federal government composed of several states with their own partial sovereignty, rather than a single consolidated government, it is inaccurate to say that the United States of America sanctioned slavery. Rather, in the United States of America, slavery was fully abolished in more than half these semi-sovereign states—again for the first time in human history.  

To be sure, some slaveholders, especially in the deep South, were adamantly insistent on preserving slavery. And even the many who conceded its injustice had deeply self-interested motives to kick the can of its demise down the road. Much of their wealth was bound up in their slaves. Some of them were also motivated by fear of violent retaliation by those persons they had enslaved. But the point here is that at the moment that the Constitution was drafted, these resisters were thought to be on the wrong side of history. Of course, in the long run, they really were on the wrong side of history.

If hypocrisy is the homage that vice plays to virtue, then the Declaration represents virtue.

The Declaration Deserves to be Revered

What came next was an American tragedy. The rise of a pro-slavery ideology in part of the U.S., which was met by an equally ardent anti-slavery ideology led eventually, and perhaps inevitably, to a bloody civil war, followed by ninety years of racial subjugation known as Jim Crow. The original Constitution needed to be updated to combat both, and so it was in the form of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments.

On July 5 th , 1852, Frederick Douglass gave a keynote address at an Independence Day celebration and asked, “ What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? ” In it, he famously, bitterly, and justly condemned the hypocrisy of celebrating Independence Day while millions of his brothers and sisters were held in chains.

But Douglass did not deny that the Declaration and its authors had articulated the political principles of a just political order. To the contrary, he stated, “Fellow Citizens, I am not wanting in respect for the fathers of this republic. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. They were great men, too. Great enough to give frame to a great age. It does not often happen to a nation to raise, at one time, such a number of truly great men.” Notwithstanding that “the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence” were being denied to his fellow African Americans, “yet I cannot contemplate their great deeds with less than admiration. They were statesmen, patriots and heroes, and for the good they did, and the principles they contended for, I will unite with you to honor their memory.”

As we approach the 250 th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, so should we.

Note: Portions of this essay are based on Randy E. Barnett, Our Republican Constitution: Securing the Liberty and Sovereignty of We the People (2016); and Randy E. Barnett, “ The Declaration of Independence and the American Theory of Government: First Come Rights, and Then Comes Government ,” Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy , Vol. 42, Issue 1, 23-28 (2019).

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Randy Barnett is the Patrick Hotung Professor of Constitutional Law at the Georgetown University Law Center where he is the faculty director of the Georgetown Center for the Constitution. His most recent book is a memoir,  A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist.

Michael Munger on Constitutions

Caroline robbins’ underground commonwealth, the "higher law" background of american constitutional law, the pamphlet debate on the american question in great britain, 1764-1776, living with the constitution, guest randy barnett: coming on september 20th.

The Pamphlet Debate on the American Question in Great Britain, 1764-1776 , selected by Jack Greene, makes available in modern digitized form a trove of eighteenth-century books and pamphlets that directly addressed what became known in metropolitan Britain as the American Question.

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Adam tomkins, on taxation and consent.

The struggle for independence in America was less a battle to free the colonies from imperial rule and more a campaign to return imperial rule to the basic precepts of constitutional good governance from which it should never have been permitted to depart in the first place.

Pamphlets at the Online Library of Liberty

J.M. of the Inner Temple, 1766

The Legislative Authority of the British Parliament, with respect to North America, and the Privileges of the Assemblies there briefly considered

Anonymous Pamphleteer, 1775

The Evidence of the Common and Statute Laws of the Realm

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Writing a Declaration that could secure support required compromises and negotiations: How did these compromises chart the course of, or delay the recognition of equality for coming generations?

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Political institutions.

Does technology fundamentally alter the basis for representative government? Does it give us cause to reconsider the principles of the Declaration?

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America's Founding Documents

Declaration of Independence: A Transcription

Note: The following text is a transcription of the Stone Engraving of the parchment Declaration of Independence (the document on display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum .)  The spelling and punctuation reflects the original.

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, 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.

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. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. 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.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. 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.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, 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 the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Button Gwinnett

George Walton

North Carolina

William Hooper

Joseph Hewes

South Carolina

Edward Rutledge

Thomas Heyward, Jr.

Thomas Lynch, Jr.

Arthur Middleton

Massachusetts

John Hancock

Samuel Chase

William Paca

Thomas Stone

Charles Carroll of Carrollton

George Wythe

Richard Henry Lee

Thomas Jefferson

Benjamin Harrison

Thomas Nelson, Jr.

Francis Lightfoot Lee

Carter Braxton

Pennsylvania

Robert Morris

Benjamin Rush

Benjamin Franklin

John Morton

George Clymer

James Smith

George Taylor

James Wilson

George Ross

Caesar Rodney

George Read

Thomas McKean

William Floyd

Philip Livingston

Francis Lewis

Lewis Morris

Richard Stockton

John Witherspoon

Francis Hopkinson

Abraham Clark

New Hampshire

Josiah Bartlett

William Whipple

Samuel Adams

Robert Treat Paine

Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island

Stephen Hopkins

William Ellery

Connecticut

Roger Sherman

Samuel Huntington

William Williams

Oliver Wolcott

Matthew Thornton

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United States Declaration of Independence Definition Essay

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Declaration of Independence is a document that is most treasured in United State since it announced independence to American colonies which were at war with Great Britain. It was drafted by Thomas Jefferson back in July 1776 and contained formal explanation of the reason why the Congress had declared independence from Great Britain.

Therefore, the document marked the independence of the thirteen colonies of America, a condition which had caused revolutionary war. America celebrates its day of independence on 4 th July, the day when the congress approved the Declaration for Independence (Becker, 2008). With that background in mind, this essay shall give an analysis of the key issues closely linked to the United States Declaration of Independence.

As highlighted in the introductory part, there was the revolutionary war in the thirteen American colonies before the declaration for independence that had been going on for about a year. Immediately after the end of the Seven Years War, the relationship between American colonies and their mother country started to deteriorate. In addition, some acts which were established in order to increase tax revenue from the colonies ended up creating a tax dispute between the colonies and the Government (Fradin, 2006).

The main reason why the Declaration for Independence was written was to declare the convictions of Americans especially towards their rights. The main aim was to declare the necessity for independence especially to the colonist as well as to state their view and position on the purpose of the government. In addition, apart from making their grievances known to King George III, they also wanted to influence other foreigners like the France to support them in their struggle towards independence.

Most authors and historians believe that the main influence of Jefferson was the English Declaration of Rights that marked the end King James II Reign. As much as the influence of John Locke who was a political theorist from England is questioned, it is clear that he influenced the American Revolution a great deal. Although most historians criticize the Jefferson’s influence by some authors like Charles Hutcheson, it is clear that the philosophical content of the Declaration emanates from other philosophical writings.

The self evident truths in the Declaration for Independence is that all men are created equal and do also have some rights which ought not to be with held at all costs. In addition, the document also illustrated that government is formed for the sole purpose of protecting those rights as it is formed by the people who it governs. Finally, if the government losses the consent, it then qualifies to be either replaced or abolished. Such truths are not only mandatory but they do not require any further emphasis.

Therefore, being self evident means that each truth speaks on its own behalf and should not be denied at whichever circumstances (Zuckert, 1987). The main reason why they were named as self evident was to influence the colonists to see the reality in the whole issue. Jefferson based his argument from on the theory of natural rights as illustrated by John Locke who argued that people have got rights which are not influenced by laws in the society (Tuckness, 2010).

One of the truths in the Declaration for Independence is the inalienable rights which are either individual or collective. Such rights are inclusive of right to liberty, life and pursuit of happiness. Unalienable rights means rights which cannot be denied since they are given by God. In addition, such rights cannot even be sold or lost at whichever circumstance. Apart from individual rights, there are also collective rights like the right of people to chose the right government and also to abolish it incase it fails achieve its main goal.

The inalienable goals are based on the law of nature as well as on the nature’s God as illustrated in the John Locke’s philosophy. It is upon the government to recognize that individuals are entitled to unalienable rights which are bestowed by God. Although the rights are not established by the civil government, it has a great role to ensure that people are able to express such laws in the constitution (Morgan, 2010).

Explaining the purpose of the government was the major intent of the Declaration for Independent. The document explains explicitly that the main purpose is not only to secure but also to protect the rights of the people from individual and life events that threaten them. However, it is important to note that the government gets its power from the people it rules or governs.

The purpose of the government of protecting the God given rights of the people impacts the decision making process in several ways. To begin with, the government has to consider the views of the people before making major decisions failure to which it may be considered unworthy and be replaced. Therefore, the decision making process becomes quite complex as several positions must be taken in to consideration.

The declaration identifies clearly the conditions under which the government can be abolished or replaced. For example, studies of Revolutionary War and Beyond, states that “any form of government becomes destructive of these ends; it is the right of the people, to alter or abolish it and institute a new government” (par. 62010). Therefore, document illustrated that the colonists were justified to reject or abolish the British rule.

The declaration was very significant especially due to the fact that it illustrated explicitly the conditions which were present in America by the time it was being made. For example, one of the key grievances of the thirteen colonies was concerning the issue of slave trade. The issue of abolishing slavery was put in the first draft of the declaration for independent although it was scrapped off later since the southern states were against the abolishment of slave trade.

Another issue which was illustrated in the declaration was the fact that the king denied the colonists the power to elect their representatives in the legislatures. While the colonists believed that they had the right to choose the government to govern them, in the British government, it was the duty of the King to do so.

Attaining land and migrating to America was the right of colonists to liberty and since the King had made it extremely difficult for the colonists to do so; the Declaration was very significant in addressing such grievances. There are many more problems that were present that were addressed by the Declaration as it was its purpose to do so.

Becker, C. L. (2008). The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas. Illinois: BiblioBazaar, LLC .

Fradin, D. B. (2006). The Declaration of Independence. New York : Marshall Cavendish.

Morgan, K. L. (2010). The Declaration of Independence, Equality and Unalienable Rights . Web.

Revolutionary War and Beyond. (2010). The Purpose of the Declaration of Independence . Web.

Tuckness, A. (2010). Locke’s Political Philosophy . Web.

Zuckert, M. P. (1987). Self-Evident Truth and the Declaration of Independence. The Review of Politics , 49 (3), 319-339.

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1. IvyPanda . "United States Declaration of Independence." July 18, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/declaration-of-independence/.

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Declaring Independence: Drafting the Documents Essay

Drafting the Documents

Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia behind a veil of Congressionally imposed secrecy in June 1776 for a country wracked by military and political uncertainties. In anticipation of a vote for independence, the Continental Congress on June 11 appointed Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston as a committee to draft a declaration of independence. The committee then delegated Thomas Jefferson to undertake the task. Jefferson worked diligently in private for days to compose a document. Proof of the arduous nature of the work can be seen in the fragment of the first known composition draft of the declaration, which is on public display here for the first time.

Jefferson then made a clean or "fair" copy of the composition declaration, which became the foundation of the document, labeled by Jefferson as the "original Rough draught." Revised first by Adams, then by Franklin, and then by the full committee, a total of forty-seven alterations including the insertion of three complete paragraphs was made on the text before it was presented to Congress on June 28. After voting for independence on July 2, the Congress then continued to refine the document, making thirty-nine additional revisions to the committee draft before its final adoption on the morning of July 4. The "original Rough draught" embodies the multiplicity of corrections, additions and deletions that were made at each step. Although most of the alterations are in Jefferson's handwriting (Jefferson later indicated the changes he believed to have been made by Adams and Franklin), quite naturally he opposed many of the changes made to his document.

Congress then ordered the Declaration of Independence printed and late on July 4, John Dunlap, a Philadelphia printer, produced the first printed text of the Declaration of Independence, now known as the "Dunlap Broadside." The next day John Hancock, the president of the Continental Congress, began dispatching copies of the Declaration to America's political and military leaders. On July 9, George Washington ordered that his personal copy of the "Dunlap Broadside," sent to him by John Hancock on July 6, be read to the assembled American army at New York. In 1783 at the war's end, General Washington brought his copy of the broadside home to Mount Vernon. This remarkable document, which has come down to us only partially intact, is accompanied in this exhibit by a complete "Dunlap Broadside"—one of only twenty-four known to exist.

On July 19, Congress ordered the production of an engrossed (officially inscribed) copy of the Declaration of Independence, which attending members of the Continental Congress, including some who had not voted for its adoption, began to sign on August 2, 1776. This document is on permanent display at the National Archives.

On July 4, 1995, more than two centuries after its composition, the Declaration of Independence, just as Jefferson predicted on its fiftieth anniversary in his letter to Roger C. Weightman, towers aloft as "the signal of arousing men to burst the chains...to assume the blessings and security of self-government" and to restore "the free right to the unbounded exercise of reason and freedom of opinion."

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My Declaration of Independence

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Published: Jun 13, 2024

Words: 720 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

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Introduction, personal autonomy, intellectual freedom, emotional self-reliance.

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