The Declaration's Introduction

Like any introduction, the Declaration’s introduction lays out the document’s purpose. Read through the text below and click on the bolded words to read the definitions.

Introduction

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.

A painting showing five prominent colonists standing as they present their draft of the Declaration of Independence, set out on a table before them.

The Committee of Five, 1776. From left to right: John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin.

Take Notes

Rewrite the introduction to the Declaration of Independence in your own words. Be sure to include what you think are the most important ideas.