Just a little wikipedia here....
The
United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the
Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the
thirteen American colonies then at war with
Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the
British Empire. Written primarily by
Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration is a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to
declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the
American Revolutionary War. The birthday of the
United States of America—
Independence Day—is celebrated on July 4, the day the wording of the Declaration was approved by Congress.
After finalizing the text on July 4, Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms. It was initially published as a printed
broadside that was widely distributed and read to the public. The most famous version of the Declaration, a signed copy that is usually regarded as
the Declaration of Independence, is on display at the
National Archives in
Washington, D.C. Although the wording of the Declaration was approved on July 4, the date of its signing has been disputed. Most historians have concluded that it was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed.
The sources and interpretation of the Declaration have been the subject of much scholarly inquiry. The Declaration justified the independence of the United States by listing colonial grievances against
King George III, and by asserting certain
natural rights, including a
right of revolution. Having served its original purpose in announcing independence, the text of the Declaration was initially ignored after the
American Revolution. Its stature grew over the years, particularly the second sentence, a sweeping statement of
human rights:
This sentence has been called "one of the best-known sentences in the English language"
[2] and "the most potent and consequential words in American history".
[3] The passage has often been used to promote the rights of marginalized groups, and came to represent for many people a moral standard for which the United States should strive. This view was greatly influenced by
Abraham Lincoln, who considered the Declaration to be the foundation of his political philosophy,
[4] and promoted the idea that the Declaration is a statement of principles through which the
United States Constitution should be interpreted.
Ok , now the right to revolution link...
In
political philosophy, the
right of revolution (or
right of rebellion) is the
right or
duty, variously stated throughout history, of the subjects of a nation to
overthrow a government that acts against their common interests. Belief in this right extends back to ancient China, and it has been used throughout history to justify various rebellions, including the
American Revolution and the
French Revolution.
More on the back ground
Believe me, dear Sir: there is not in the British empire a man who more cordially loves a union with Great Britain than I do. But, by the God that made me, I will cease to exist before I yield to a connection on such terms as the British Parliament propose; and in this, I think I speak the sentiments of America.
—
Thomas Jefferson, November 29, 1775
[5]
By the time the Declaration of Independence was adopted in July 1776, the
Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain had been at war for more than a year. Relations between the colonies and the
mother country had been deteriorating since the end of the
Seven Years' War in 1763. The war had plunged the British government deep into debt, and so
Parliament enacted a series of measures to increase tax revenue from the colonies. Parliament believed that these acts, such as the
Stamp Act of 1765 and the
Townshend Acts of 1767, were a legitimate means of having the colonies pay their fair share of the costs to keep the colonies in the
British Empire.
[6]
Many colonists, however, had developed a different conception of the empire. Because the colonies were not directly represented in Parliament, colonists argued that Parliament had
no right to levy taxes upon them. This tax dispute was part of a larger divergence between British and American interpretations of the
British Constitution and the extent of Parliament's
authority in the colonies.
[7] The orthodox British view, dating from the
Glorious Revolution of 1688, was that Parliament was the
supreme authority throughout the empire, and so by definition anything Parliament did was constitutional.
[8] In the colonies, however, the idea had developed that the British Constitution recognized certain
fundamental rights that no government—not even Parliament—could violate.
[9] After the Townshend Acts, some essayists even began to question whether Parliament had any
legitimate jurisdiction in the colonies at all.
[10] Anticipating the arrangement of the
British Commonwealth,
[11] by 1774 American writers such as
Samuel Adams,
James Wilson, and Thomas Jefferson were arguing that Parliament was the legislature of Great Britain only, and that the colonies, which had their own legislatures, were connected to the rest of the empire only through their
allegiance to
the Crown.
[12]
this caught my eye
the Glorious revolution...
The
Glorious Revolution, also called the
Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of
King James II of England (VII of Scotland and II of Ireland) in
1688 by a union of
Parliamentarians with an invading army led by the
Dutch stadtholder William III of
Orange-Nassau (William of Orange) who, as a result, ascended the English throne as
William III of England together with his wife
Mary II of England.
The crisis besetting King James II came to a head in 1688, when the King fathered a son,
James Francis Edward Stuart on 10 June (Julian calendar).
[1] Until then the throne would have passed to his daughter Mary, a Protestant, the wife of William. The prospect of a Roman Catholic dynasty in the kingdoms was now likely. Already troubled by the King's Catholicism and his close ties with France, key leaders of the Tories united with members of the opposition Whigs and set out to resolve the crisis by inviting William of Orange to England.
[2]
The expression "Glorious Revolution" was first used by
John Hampden in late 1689,
[3] and is an expression that is still used by the
British Parliament.
[4] The Glorious Revolution is also occasionally termed the
Bloodless Revolution, albeit inaccurately. In England there were two significant clashes between the two armies, and anti-Catholic riots in several towns.
[5] There was also the
Williamite War in Ireland and
serious fighting in Scotland (notably the Battles of
Killicrankie and the
Dunkeld).
[6] The revolution also led to the collapse of the
Dominion of New England and the overthrow of
Maryland's government.
The Revolution is closely tied in with the events of the
War of the Grand Alliance on
mainland Europe, and may be seen as the last successful invasion of
England.
[7] It can be argued that James's overthrow began modern English
parliamentary democracy: never since has the monarch held
absolute power, and the
Bill of Rights has become one of the most important documents in the
political history of
Britain. The deposition of the
Roman Catholic James II ended any chance of
Catholicism becoming re-established in England, and also led to limited toleration for
nonconformist Protestants — it would be some time before they had full
political rights. For Catholics, however, it was disastrous both socially and politically. Catholics were denied the right to vote and sit in the Westminster Parliament for over 100 years afterwards. They were also denied
commissions in the
army and the monarch was forbidden to be Catholic or marry a Catholic, thus ensuring a Protestant succession.
The invasion ended all attempts by England, in the
Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century, to subdue the
Dutch Republic by military force. However, the
personal union, the common market and the co-operation between the English and Dutch navies shifted the dominance in world trade from the Republic to
England (and then to the
United Kingdom of Great Britain).
look! Bart is researching and reading and being sarcastic all at once
