The first section of The Declaration of Independence Study Guide is entitled "Summary and Analysis: The Declaration of Independence Introduction." I hope you find it useful. I strongly recommend you read the actual document before reading my analysis and summary of it.
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Summary of The Declaration of Independence: The introduction of The Declaration of Independence contains some of the world's most oft quoted words. The introduction opens by stating the purpose of the document--to declare the causes that compel the colonists to separate themselves from the British Crown. The second paragraph contains the philosophy upon which the declaration is based, stating that "all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights," that men institute governments in order to secure these rights, and that when government attempts to remove these rights, the governed have the right to rebel.
Analysis of The Declaration of Independence: The line of reasoning used by the document's writers is as follows:
- Governments are created to secure certain unalienable rights, rights that are granted, not by government or man, but by God himself. This is called an appeal to Natural Law. It is apparent the founding fathers felt that God should play an important part in the government of man; they do not, however, go into detail on the nature of that God. This, as repeated nearly a decade later in the Bill of Rights, is up to the individual and a right which, also, cannot be taken away by government.
- When government takes away these rights, the governed have just cause to overthrow or separate themselves from that government. The thought that people had a right to overthrow government was indeed revolutionary, although the premise had been stated by philosophers in the past--John Locke, for example. The Declaration contends that although the right to rebel exists, human nature dictates that people will not do so over light and transient causes, choosing rather to suffer than rebel in most cases.
- Great Britain is guilty of attempting to take away the aforementioned God given rights; therefore, the colonists are justified in separating themselves from Great Britain. Jefferson and the committee use deductive reasoning to make their case, stating first the principle and then supplying evidence (in the body of the document).
- Pauline Meier points out that Jefferson, in the introduction, uses an "eighteenth-century rhetorical method by which one phrase was piled on another, but their point became clear only at the end. It made sense to assert the right of revolution so dramatically in The Declaration of Independence: it was the right they were exercising in 1776, and the Declaration was designed to demonstrate that they did so with justice." (8-9)*
* Maier, Pauline. The Declaration of Independence & The Constitution of The United States. "The Introduction." New York: Bantam, 1998. Pp. 1-46.
For more summary of The Declaration of Independence, proceed to page 2.