,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dhbh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #ah1     
#bjbf,mr4 ,schmitt introduced the       
following bill2 which was read twice1   
considered1 read the third time and     
passed  ,a ,,bill  ,to reaffirm the     
,declaration of ,independence as an     
,organic ,law of the ,united ,states4   
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,declaration of ,independence   
,reaffirmation ,act of #bjbf4  #b4      
,findings ,congress finds the following3
 7#a7 ,on ,july #d1 #aggf1 the          
,continental ,congress adopted the      
,declaration of ,independence4  7#b7    
,the ,declaration of ,independence      
announced that the ,united ,states of   
,america were free and independent      
,states4  7#c7 ,the ,declaration of     
,independence declares that all men are 
created equal1 that they are endowed by 
their ,creator with certain unalienable 
rights1 and that governments derive     
their just powers from the consent of   

the governed4  7#d7 ,the ,declaration of
 ,independence is recognized among the  
,organic ,laws of the ,united ,states4  
7#e7 ,the ,northwest ,ordinance was     
adopted by the ,congress of the         
,confederation in #aghg1 and was        
thereafter reenacted by the ,first      
,congress in #aghi1 so that it could    
continue to have full effect under the  
,constitution of the ,united ,states4   
7#f7 ,congress has authority to         
recognize1 reaffirm1 and carry forward  
the foundational laws and principles of 
the ,american political order4  7#g7    
,the #bejth anniversary of ,american    
independence calls upon ,congress to    
reaffirm the ,declaration of            
,independence as the charter of         
,american sovereignty1 natural rights1  
equal citizenship1 and government by    
consent4  7#h7 ,the ,constitution of the
 ,united ,states gives lawful form and  
enduring structure to the principles of 
republican self-government announced in 
the ,declaration of ,independence4  7#i7

 ,the ,declaration of ,independence and 
the ,constitution of the ,united ,states
 together establish a political order in
 which the people are sovereign and     
public officers are their servants4     
7#aj7 ,the ,declaration of ,independence
 presupposes that ,americans are one    
people with the right to govern         
themselves as a distinct political      
community1 to preserve their national   
independence1 and to secure the rights  
and liberties of their own citizens4    
#c4 ,reaffirmation of the ,declaration  
of ,independence ,congress reaffirms and
 re-adopts the ,declaration of          
,independence as an ,organic ,law of the
 ,united ,states and as the enduring    
charter of ,american independence1      
national sovereignty1 natural rights1   
equal citizenship1 and government by    
consent4  #d4 ,text of the ,declaration 
of ,independence ,in commemoration of   
the #bejth anniversary of ,american     
independence1 ,congress sets forth the  
text of the ,declaration of             

,independence as follows3  ,the         
unanimous ,declaration of the thirteen  
united ,states of ,america1 ,when in the
 ,course of human events1 it becomes    
necessary for one people to dissolve the
 political bands which have connected   
them with another1 and to assume among  
the ,powers of the earth1 the separate  
and equal station to which the ,laws of 
,nature and of ,nature's ,god entitle   
them1 a decent respect to the opinions  
of mankind requires that they should    
declare the causes which impel them to  
the separation4  ,we hold these truths  
to be self-evident1 that all men are    
created equal1 that they are endowed1 by
 their ,creator1 with certain           
unalienable ,rights1 that among these   
are ,life1 ,liberty1 and the pursuit of 
,happiness4--,that to secure these      
rights1 ,governments are instituted     
among ,men1 deriving their just powers  
from the consent of the governed1--,that
 whenever any ,form of ,government      
becomes destructive of these ends1 it is

 the ,right of the ,people to alter or  
abolish it1 and to institute new        
,government1 laying its foundation on   
such principles1 and organizing its     
powers in such form1 as to them shall   
seem most likely to effect their ,safety
 and ,happiness4 ,prudence1 indeed1 will
 dictate that ,governments long         
established should not be changed for   
light and transient causes2 and1        
accordingly1 all experience hath shewn1 
that mankind are more disposed to       
suffer1 while evils are sufferable1 than
 to right themselves1 by abolishing the 
forms to which they are accustomed4 ,but
 when a long train of abuses and        
usurpations1 pursuing invariably the    
same ,object1 evinces a design to reduce
 them under absolute ,despotism1 it is  
their right1 it is their duty1 to throw 
off such ,government1 and to provide new
 ,guards for their future               
security4--,such has been the patient   
sufferance of these ,colonies2 and such 
is now the necessity which constrains   

them to alter their former ,systems of  
,government4 ,the history of the present
 ,king of ,great ,britain is a history  
of repeated injuries and usurpations1   
all having1 in direct object1 the       
establishment of an absolute ,tyranny   
over these ,states4 ,to prove this1 let 
,facts be submitted to a candid world4  
,he has refused his ,assent to ,laws1   
the most wholesome and necessary for the
 public good4  ,he has forbidden his    
,governors to pass ,laws of immediate   
and pressing importance1 unless         
suspended in their operation till his   
,assent should be obtained2 and1 when so
 suspended1 he has utterly neglected to 
attend to them4  ,he has refused to pass
 other ,laws for the accommodation of   
large districts of people1 unless those 
people would relinquish the ,right of   
,representation in the ,legislature2 a  
right inestimable to them1 and          
formidable to tyrants only4  ,he has    
called together legislative bodies at   
places unusual1 uncomfortable1 and      

distant from the depository of their    
,public ,records1 for the sole purpose  
of fatiguing them into compliance with  
his measures4  ,he has dissolved        
,representative ,houses repeatedly1 for 
opposing with manly firmness his        
invasions on the rights of the people4  
,he has refused for a long time1 after  
such dissolutions1 to cause others to be
 elected2 whereby the ,legislative      
,powers1 incapable of ,annihilation1    
have returned to the ,people at large   
for their exercise2 the ,state          
remaining1 in the meantime1 exposed to  
all the dangers of invasion from        
without1 and convulsions within4  ,he   
has endeavoured to prevent the          
population of these ,states2 for that   
purpose1 obstructing the ,laws for      
,naturalization of ,foreigners2 refusing
 to pass others to encourage their      
migrations hither1 and raising the      
conditions of new ,appropriations of    
,lands4  ,he has obstructed the         
,administration of ,justice1 by refusing

 his ,assent to ,laws for establishing  
,judiciary ,powers4  ,he has made       
,judges dependent on his ,will alone1   
for the tenure of their offices1 and the
 amount and payment of their salaries4  
,he has erected a multitude of ,new     
,offices1 and sent hither swarms of     
,officers to harass our ,people1 and eat
 out their substance4  ,he has kept     
among us1 in times of peace1 ,standing  
,armies1 without the ,consent of our    
legislatures4  ,he has affected to      
render the ,military independent of and 
superior to the ,civil ,power4  ,he has 
combined with others to subject us to a 
jurisdiction foreign to our             
,constitution and unacknowledged by our 
,laws2 giving his ,assent to their ,acts
 of pretended ,legislation3 ,for        
quartering large bodies of armed troops 
among us3  ,for protecting them1 by a   
mock ,trial1 from punishment for any    
,murders which they should commit on the
 ,inhabitants of these ,states3  ,for   
cutting off our ,trade with all parts of

 the world3  ,for imposing ,taxes on us 
without our ,consent3  ,for depriving   
us1 in many cases1 of the benefits of   
,trial by ,jury3  ,for transporting us  
beyond ,seas to be tried for pretended  
offences3  ,for abolishing the free     
,system of ,english ,laws in a          
neighbouring ,province1 establishing    
therein an ,arbitrary government1 and   
enlarging its ,boundaries1 so as to     
render it at once an example and fit    
instrument for introducing the same     
absolute rule into these ,colonies3     
,for taking away our ,charters1         
abolishing our most valuable ,laws1 and 
altering fundamentally the ,forms of our
 ,governments3  ,for suspending our own 
,legislatures1 and declaring themselves 
invested with power to legislate for us 
in all cases whatsoever4  ,he has       
abdicated ,government here1 by declaring
 us out of his ,protection and waging   
,war against us4  ,he has plundered our 
seas1 ravaged our ,coasts1 burnt our    
towns1 and destroyed the lives of our   

people4  ,he is1 at this time1          
transporting large ,armies of foreign   
,mercenaries to complete the works of   
death1 desolation1 and tyranny1 already 
begun1 with circumstances of ,cruelty   
and ,perfidy scarcely paralleled in the 
most barbarous ages1 and totally        
unworthy the ,head of a civilized       
nation4  ,he has constrained our fellow 
,citizens1 taken ,captive on the high   
,seas1 to bear ,arms against their      
,country1 to become the executioners of 
their friends and ,brethren1 or to fall 
themselves by their ,hands4  ,he has    
excited domestic insurrections amongst  
us1 and has endeavoured to bring on the 
inhabitants of our frontiers the        
merciless ,indian ,savages1 whose known 
rule of warfare is an undistinguished   
destruction of all ages1 sexes1 and     
conditions4  ,in every stage of these   
,oppressions1 ,we have ,petitioned for  
,redress in the most humble terms3 ,our 
repeated ,petitions have been answered  
only by repeated injury4 ,a ,prince1    

whose character is thus marked by every 
act which may define a ,tyrant1 is unfit
 to be the ruler of a free people4  ,nor
 have ,we been wanting in attentions to 
our ,british brethren4 ,we have warned  
them1 from time to time1 of attempts by 
their legislature to extend an          
unwarrantable jurisdiction over us4 ,we 
have reminded them of the circumstances 
of our emigration and settlement here4  
,we have appealed to their native       
,justice and ,magnanimity1 and ,we have 
conjured them1 by the ties of our common
 kindred1 to disavow these usurpations1 
which would inevitably interrupt our    
connections and correspondence4 ,they1  
too1 have been deaf to the voice of     
justice and of consanguinity4 ,we must1 
therefore1 acquiesce in the necessity   
which denounces our ,separation1 and    
hold them1 as ,we hold the rest of      
mankind1 ,enemies in ,war1 in ,peace    
,friends4  ,we1 therefore1 the          
,representatives of the united ,states  
of ,america1 in ,general ,congress      

assembled1 appealing to the ,supreme    
,judge of the world for the rectitude of
 our intentions1 do1 in the ,name and by
 the ,authority of the good ,people of  
these ,colonies1 solemnly publish and   
declare1 ,that these ,united ,colonies  
are1 and of ,right ought to be1 ,free   
and ,independent ,states2 that they are 
,absolved from all ,allegiance to the   
,british ,crown2 and that all political 
connection between them and the ,state  
of ,great ,britain is1 and ought to be1 
totally dissolved2 and that1 as ,free   
and ,independent ,states1 they have full
 ,power to levy ,war1 conclude ,peace1  
contract ,alliances1 establish          
,commerce1 and do all other ,acts and   
,things which ,independent ,states may  
of right do4  ,and for the support of   
this ,declaration1 with a firm reliance 
on the protection of divine ,providence1
 ,we mutually pledge to each other our  
,lives1 our ,fortunes1 and our sacred   
,honor4  4