| 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, laying its foundation on such
principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall
seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence,
indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be
changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all
experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer,
while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing
the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of
abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces
a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right,
it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new
Guards for their future security.
The United States Declaration of Independence
What
Is The Consent Of The Governed?
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