Declaration Of Independence

A declaration of independence is a proclamation of the independence of a newly formed or reformed country from part or the whole of the territory of another, or a document containing such a declaration. Declarations of independence are generally made by one side without the consent of the previous government, and hence are often called unilateral declaration of independence or UDI.

In international law, unilateral declarations of independence are generally frowned upon, since preservation of territory is one of the few things that the countries of the world universally agree on. Declaring independence or supporting such a declaration is seen as a hostile act, that may easily lead to war.

Many states have come into being through an act of UDI. The legality of a UDI is often the subject of debate and unsurprisingly the previous government typically asserts that a UDI is illegal. Often, international bodies and other countries decline at first to accept the legitimacy of the declared state and its government. If the declared state becomes a functioning entity, it may gain diplomatic recognition over time and a form of backdated legitimacy. Not all such declarations result in actual states and those governments that do result from UDIs do not always survive and are often rivaled by the previous government. A significant number of unilaterally declared governments collapse or otherwise give way, with control returning to the previous government or shifting to a new follow-on government.

Examples of UDIs

• The first known formal declaration of independence was the Declaration of Arbroath in which Scottish leaders declared Scotland's independence from England on behalf of the Scottish people in 1320.

• The United States Declaration of Independence was made by 13 of Britain's American colonies in 1776. In 1778, the Treaty of Alliance and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce were signed by the United States and France signaling the first official recognition of the new country. The Kingdom of Great Britain formally recognized the new country following the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

• The Irish Republic was declared by Dáil Éireann in 1919; it never received international recognition, was rivaled by the administration of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland during the Anglo-Irish War, and was ultimately superseded by the Irish Free State.

• Indonesia declared independence from the Netherlands on August 17, 1945, which was soon recognized by the United States and Australia, but not by the Netherlands until 1949.

• Katanga, a former a province of Belgian Congo, broke away with an UDI in 1960, when Congo was granted its independence. The attempted break away ended by the implementation of a UN supervised National Conciliation Plan in January 1963.

• Rhodesia (Ian Smith's white minority government) declared UDI from the United Kingdom in 1965. Few states accepted its legitimacy. The UDI Rhodesian state was ultimately replaced under the Lancaster House Agreement by a restored British regime under a governor, Lord Soames. Within a short time, a new much more-widely recognized independent state, Zimbabwe, came into existence.

• Guinea Bissau, formerly Portuguese Guinea, declared independence from Portugal in 1973, which was recognized by many countries, before Portugal formally granted independence in 1974.

• East Timor, formerly Portuguese Timor, declared independence from Portugal on November 28, 1975, which was recognized by several countries including China, but not by neighboring Australia, or by Indonesia, which invaded on December 7 1975, and annexed it as its '27th province' on July 17, 1976.

• The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was proclaimed in Northern Cyprus, in 1983. The area had been occupied by Turkish forces since a Turkish invasion in 1974 and has only received international recognition from Turkey.

• The Palestinian Liberation Organization unilaterally proclaimed the State of Palestine in 1988. The PLO had no control of any territory at the time.

• Other nations, or aspiring nations, which have made formal declarations of independence, include the Netherlands (Dutch Declaration of Independence from Spain, 1581), Texas (Texas Declaration of Independence for the Republic of Texas from Mexico, 1836), and New Zealand (Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand, 1835, a declaration of independence of the Maori tribes).

Recent self-declared states also include Chechnya, Somaliland, and Somaliland's neighbor, Puntland.

Threatened UDIs

The Canadian province of Quebec had occasionally threatened to issue a UDI. The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a UDI by Quebec would have no legal effect.

Situations without UDIs

In many cases, independence is achieved without a declaration of independence but instead has occurred by bilateral agreement. An example of this were the components of the British Empire, most parts of which achieved independence through negotiation with the United Kingdom.

One notable non-declaration of independence has been Taiwan, which is administered by the Republic of China. A formal declaration that Taiwan is independent of China has been one of conditions under which the People's Republic of China would use force against Taiwan. The political status of Taiwan remains controversial, and the position of most supporters of Taiwan independence has been since the Taiwan has never been a part of the PRC, and the governing institutions (of the ROC) function as an independent and sovereign state, there is no need to formally declare Taiwan to be independent. Supporters of Chinese reunification on Taiwan also see no point in a declaration of independence in that they argue that Taiwan is and should be part of a greater entity cultural entity of China, and a new Republic of Taiwan would only bring about a name change in exchange for a communist invasion attempt Taiwan could little afford.

See also: Independence Day, Separatism

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United States Declaration of Independence

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Declaration of Independence is a document in which the 13 colonies explain their reasons for declaring themselves independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Throughout the 1760s and 1770s, relations between Great Britain and her American colonies had become increasingly strained. Fighting broke out in 1775 at Lexington and Concord marking the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. Although there was little initial sentiment for outright independence, the pamphlet Common Sense by Thomas Paine was able to promote the belief that total independence was the only possible route for the colonies.

Independence was adopted on July 2, 1776 pursuant to the "Lee Resolution" presented to the Continental Congress by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, which read: "Resolved: 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."

A committee consisting of John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, Robert R. Livingston of New York, and Roger Sherman of Connecticut, was formed to draft a suitable declaration to frame this resolution. Jefferson did most of the writing, with input from the committee. The Declaration was then rewritten somewhat in general session prior to its adoption by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Jefferson's draft included a denunciation of the slave trade, which was edited out.

A final copy of the Declaration was produced by Timothy Matlack, assistant to the secretary of Congress, on August 2, 1776, at which time most of the delegates signed it (several signed later). Word of the declaration reached London on August 10.

Several myths surround the document: because it is dated July 4, 1776, many people falsely believe it was signed on that date. John Hancock's name is larger than that of the other signatories, and an unfounded legend states that it is large so that King George III would be able to read it without his spectacles. A painting by John Trumbull, depicting the signing of the Declaration with all representatives present, hangs in the grand Rotunda of the Capitol of the United States: no such ceremony ever took place. There is no evidence that Benjamin Franklin ever made the statement often attributed to him: "We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall hang separately". The Liberty Bell was not rung to celebrate independence, and it certainly did not acquire its crack on so doing: that story comes from a children's book of fiction, Legends of the American Revolution, by George Lippard. The Liberty Bell was actually named in the early nineteenth century when it became a symbol of the anti-slavery movement.

A fictionalized (but somewhat historically accurate) version of how the Declaration came about is the musical play (and 1972 movie) 1776, which is usually termed a "musical comedy" but deals frankly with the political issues, especially how disagreement over the institution of slavery almost defeated the Declaration's adoption.

The Declaration was also a propaganda tool, in which the Americans tried to establish clear reasons for their rebellion that might persuade reluctant colonists to join them and establish their just cause to foreign governments that might lend them aid. The Declaration also served to unite the members of the Continental Congress. Most were aware that they were signing what would be their death warrant in case the Revolution failed, and the Declaration served to make anything short of victory in the Revolution unthinkable.

The Declaration appeals strongly to the concept of natural law and self-determination. The Declaration is heavily influnced by the Act of Abjuration of the Dutch Republic, by the Discourses on Government of the Republican martyr Alegernon Sydney, to whose legacy Jefferson and Adams were equally devoted; ideas and even some of the phrasing was taken directly from the writings of John Locke, particularly his second treatise on government, titled "Essay Concerning the true original, extent, and end of Civil Government."

The Declaration of Independence contains many of the founding fathers' fundamental principles, some of which were later codified in the United States Constitution. It has also been used as the model of a number of later documents such as the declarations of independence of Vietnam and Rhodesia.

Text of the Declaration

The following paragraphs are the better known section from the start of the Declaration:

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 inalienable 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.

The signers of the Declaration represented the new states as follows:

New Hampshire:

• Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:

• John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:

• Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut:

• Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York:

• William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey:

• Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:

• Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware:

• Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland:

• Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:

• George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr, Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina:

• William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:

• Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr, Thomas Lynch, Jr, Arthur Middleton

Georgia:

• Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

See also

• History of the United States
• Karantania
• Strabane
• John Dunlap
• declaration of independence

External Links

• National Archives Declaration of Independence Page
• "Drafting of the Declaration of Independence. The Committee: Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Livingston, and Sherman." 1776. Copy of engraving after Alonzo Chappel. - credits National Archives and Records Administration -- large version
• Mural of the Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull -- *large version

Inalienable / Unalienable

"Inalienable", etymologically, comes from the French word inaliénable. "Unalienable" is an American mispronounciation of this French word. "Inalienable" is the better usage and is the term that is used in legal documents.

The idea of inalienable rights, in almost the exact phrasing used in the Declaration of Independence, came from the political philosopher John Locke. The Declaration of Independance was to a large degree inspired by his work "The Second Treatise of Government". In this treatise, Locke developed the important idea of government by consent. Locke wrote that human beings had certain inalienable rights.

Thomas Jefferson originally wrote "inalienable". When subsequent printed and hand-copied reproductions were made, John Adams, fellow Declaration Committee member, arbitrarily had the word changed to "unalienable"; which he believed more correct. The original signed version of the final draft (i.e. the master document) of the Declaration of Independance (Not the one in the National Archives) says "inalienable". The inscription on the Jefferson Memorial reads "inalienable". John Adams became the second president of the United States.