The Declaration of Independence
Read both excerpts below. The first is from the Declaration of Independence. The second is from the United States Constitution. If you need help with understanding the text, don't forget to click on the "play" button next to Uncle Sam to help you out! When you are finished reading, use the quiz at the bottom of the page to see if you can identify the principles stated in these passages.
The Declaration of Independence
...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...
|
|
Excerpts from the United States Constitution
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
|
|
The Declaration of Independence (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html
US Const. Preamble.
US Const. Preamble.