| " | 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, and among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness[1]--that to secure these Rights, Governments are Instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that wherever any form of Government becomes destructive to these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as shall seem to them most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. |
