That last sentence, Lucas wrote in his paper, "is so innocuous one can easily overlook its artistry and importance. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world." "The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. The section is introduced with these lines: submitted to a candid world"Ī large section of the declaration is devoted to a list of grievances against King George III. Potential allies such as the French might have wanted to avoid being part of that type of conflict. The declaration was telling the world that this wasn't a civil war between rebels and rulers.
The message wasn't just for American or British audiences. They weren't subjects, or second-class citizens in any way. That position was supported by the idea that the colonists were "one people" who needed to separate themselves from "another" (the British). "The colonists wanted to ensure that they not be labeled as rebels." If revolution was "necessary," then they weren't rebels. "It was very important to the British that the colonists be labeled 'rebels,' " Lucas said this week when we spoke to him by telephone. It's also a word that rebutted a British view. National Archives Thomas Jefferson, president, statesman and principal author of the Declaration of Independence. It makes the case that colonists had no choice. "Necessary," according to Lucas, "is the most important word" in that section. "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." Jefferson got right to the point in the introduction:
"Necessary," "one people" and "another" He's the author of " The Stylistic Artistry of the Declaration of Independence," a paper that's one of the first things you see on the National Archives' Web pages about the declaration. They are important in understanding the messages that were sent by Thomas Jefferson and those who helped him write the declaration.įor guidance, we turned to Stephen Lucas, the Evjue-Bascom professor in the humanities at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. But today, let's focus on a few words and phrases that have not have gotten as much attention. The line at the top of this post has the words that are probably most remembered. National Archives The Declaration of Independence.
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