第一篇：英文分析美國獨立宣言

Commentary on Declaration of Independence

I.Preamble The Declaration of Independence is important because it inspired many revolutionary efforts throughout the world and contributed to Americans' understanding of their values as a new nation.The introduction, called the preamble, to the Declaration of Independence is especially important because it builds connections between philosophical theory and practical politics, expresses the fundamental values of the new American government, and also appeals to other nations to accept the new nation.The introduction relies heavily on the philosophical and political ideas of the Enlightenment period of 18th century Europe, including the ideas of Thomas Hobbes, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and, most particularly, John Locke.Locke believed that humans, by nature, had the right to protection of life, health, liberty and possessions.Jefferson altered this slightly when he claims the unalienable rights include “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Locke also strongly opposed the divine right of kings--which held that kings held absolute power because they were placed on their throne by God--and insisted that the people had the right to consent to their government and that the power of law making resides with the people.Jefferson included this theory when he writes “to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Jefferson's declaration helped to put Locke's philosophies into the realm of real-world politics.Many revolutions that occurred after the American Revolution cited Jefferson's Declaration of Independence as justification in overthrowing a corrupt and dictatorial power.The introduction to the Declaration of Independence also is important for the ways it contributed to Americans' understanding of their rights as citizens.Americans continue to believe that the phrase “all men are created equal” is a fundamental “law” in the country.While this phrase was included in the introduction to the declaration, it appears nowhere else in official documents defining rights granted under the U.S.Government.The Declaration of Independence holds no legal authority in our country, yet it continues to be cited as the foundation for American equality.Various groups throughout history have criticized American “equality”, referring to the introduction of the declaration for support.Critics point to Jefferson's contradictory message regarding equality in reference to slavery.Although Jefferson stated that all men are created equal and have the right to liberty, he ran a large plantation and was a slaveholder.Other critics point to the use of the word “men” as excluding women citizens.The 1848 Seneca Falls Convention used Jefferson's format and style to draft The Declaration of Sentiments, a document declaring women's unfair treatment by the U.S.government and by society.Both as a source for debate about equality and as a definition of the ideological foundation of the new nation, the introduction to the Declaration played a crucial role in defining American values and laws.The introduction is also significant because Jefferson insisted on the importance of explaining the rebellious actions of the 13 colonies to the nations and statesmen of the world.The most powerful nations of the world in the 18th century were monarchies.The ideas of Jefferson could serve not only to threaten Great Britain's colonial empire, but the colonial empires of other nations in Europe.Recognizing the importance of maintaining good diplomatic relations with European nations, Jefferson sought to explain the actions of the 13 colonies in rational terms.Anticipating that this document would influence rebellions elsewhere, Jefferson clarified that governments should not be overthrown for trivial causes.Instead, Jefferson explained that only “despotic” or totalitarian governments should be overthrown.II.The list of abuses reflects the colonists' belief that their rights as British Citizens had been slowly eroded ever since the French and Indian War ended in 1763.Although the Declaration does not name the specific legislation passed by Parliament, its listing of the abuses and usurpation effectively covers the history of the King and Parliament's attempts to gain more power and control over the colonies.The list crescendos with the most offensive actions, aimed at total suppression of the colonies, that were put into effect just prior to the signing of the Declaration.Many of the acts that the Declaration criticizes were intended to tighten royal control over the colonies.The history of Parliament's acts unfolded over a period of 13 years during which royal attempts to squash the civil liberties of colonists met with heightened colonial resistance.Beginning with The Proclamation of 1763, Parliament stripped colonists of the right to settle in the land between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River.This meant that although many colonists had given their lives to defend that land from the French, they would not be permitted to reap the benefits.Shortly after the proclamation, Parliament decided that the colonies would help repay the war debts, and enacted laws such as the Sugar Act(1764), the Stamp Tax(1765), the Townshend Acts(1767)and the Tea Act(1773).When the colonists protested against these acts, the King and Parliament responded by further suppressing the rights of colonists.Legislation in 1774 referred to by colonists as the “Intolerable Acts” struck especially hard at the civil rights of the colony of Massachusetts.The Intolerable Acts differed from previous legislation.These acts struck not only at the economic freedom of the colonies, but at their political rights and legislative independence as well.Not only was the port of Boston closed to all trade, but a military governor was also appointed and the people of Massachusetts no longer had the right to elect their representatives, select jurors, or hold town meetings.Additionally, British soldiers accused of crimes would be tried in England, not in the colony, and a new Quartering Act forced colonists in Massachusetts to feed and house British soldiers.The passage of the Intolerable Acts indicated to many colonists, even those not living in Massachusetts, that the King and Parliament were more interested in asserting unconditional control than in preserving the civil liberties of the colonists.The basic principle upon which the Declaration rests is that colonists, as British citizens, believed they were entitled to the rights and privileges granted by the Magna Carta, and the British Bill of Rights of 1689.Among other things, these documents established that the King was not above the law, that the people, represented in parliament, had a right to endorse or reject taxation, and that citizens were entitled to a trial by jury of their peers.Additionally, the Declaration relied on precedent: most British colonies had enjoyed self-rule and had been governed through their own legislative bodies since their founding.By 1774, most of the colonists that had once protested “no taxation without representation” found themselves without any representation whatsoever, neither in Parliament nor in any colonial house of representation.Towards the end of the list of abuses, the Declaration focuses attention on a few specific incidents that demonstrate the King's disregard for colonial life and liberty, the danger of colonists remaining divided on the issue of independence, and the preparations being made by Great Britain for an all-out war.These statements served, in many cases, to convince moderates in the Second Continental Congress to see that reconciliation was not a possibility and to cast their vote in favor of independence.The British attack on colonists and the loss of American lives at the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April of 1775 and the Battle of Bunker Hill in June of 1775 demonstrated the King's “waging war against us” and his disregard for American lives.In December of 1775, Parliament withdrew British military protection from the colonies and enacted a policy of seizure and confiscation of American ships and sailors(“...[King George] has plundered our seas...he has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas...”).This action also left colonists living on the frontier, especially those in Georgia, with no military protection from Native American attacks(“...he has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages...”).Furthermore, the heightened tension between colonists and the King began to overflow into hostile relations between those colonists loyal to the king(Tories)and those seeking independence(Whigs).This tension actually erupted into an armed battle between colonists in early 1776 in the Battle at Moore's Creek Bridge(“He has excited domestic insurrections among us...”).It is interesting to note that the Declaration reserved his most scathing language to describe the King's use of mercenaries.Accusing George III's mercenaries of cruelty “scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation, ”the Declaration aims to evoke support from moderates within the colonies by revealing that the British civilization in which they took pride was no more than a cruel and tyrannical monarchy.Interestingly, Jefferson devoted approximately one-fourth of the abuses in his original draft of the Declaration of Independence to the topic of slavery.Jefferson held the King accountable for maintaining and protecting slavery as an institution in the colonies.Not surprisingly, the moderate congress, already fearful of being too radical, removed all references to slavery from the document.It remains a source of historical debate why a slave-owning man like Jefferson would have devoted so much intellectual energy to criticizing slavery and to attempting to remove it from the colonies.III.Between 1763 and 1776, American colonists made many attempts to organize in protest against the acts of Parliament.The Declaration of Independence represents the last in a long chain of declarations that began with the declaration of the Stamp Act Congress of 1765, which stated colonists were entitled to the same rights as Englishmen.This document also affirmed that taxing the colonists without their consent was a violation of their rights as British Citizens and that Parliament had no right to tax colonists.In 1774, after the passage of the Intolerable Acts, these themes would surface again in a document written by the First Continental Congress called the Declaration of Rights and Grievances.This document clarified the Stampt Act Congress declaration by stating only colonial legislatures had the right to tax the colonists.Additionally, this document declared the Intolerable Acts unconstitutional and criticized the King and Parliament for dissolving colonial assemblies, maintaining a standing army in peacetime, and for enforcing heavy taxation.Meeting again as the Second Continental Congress in May of 1775, the delegates understood that things had only worsened between the colonists and the British government.Although fighting had already broken out between minutemen and British troops, many delegates still pressed for a peaceful reconciliation.This congress issued a Declaration of Causes of Taking-up Arms and sent an Olive-Branch Petition to the King to humbly request that he negotiate a peaceful reconciliation.Once again, the King ignored the requests of the colonists and responded instead by sending an additional 20,000 troops to the colonies.Throughout the struggle to assert their rights, colonial leaders understood the importance of maintaining unity between the 13 colonies.Samuel Adams knew that the people would have to be persuaded to view an attack on one colony as an attack on all colonies.To help maintain a unified protest, Samuel Adams organized Committees of Correspondence in 1772 to ensure that colonies could stay informed about new developments regarding the British King and Parliament.This information network proved crucial when the First Continental Congress agreed to boycott trade with Great Britain and to refuse to use British goods until a resolution was reached.During the Second Continental Congress, patriot leaders carefully waited to declare independence until all delegations unanimously supported it.Although the colonies were technically at war with Great Britain for most of the time the congress met, it took them 14 months to write the formal declaration of war.After the rejection of the Olive Branch Petition, the publication of Thomas Paine's Common Sense, and the hiring of German mercenaries, all of which took place in early 1776, the themes stated in earlier declarations were finally put to use to justify separation rather than reconciliation.The Declaration of Independence relied on the content and claims of earlier declarations, but firmly stated that ten years of peaceful political and economic actions had failed to reach the desired effect.Therefore, as concluded in this section, the King and Parliament left the colonists no other choice but to seek separation through military means.IV.The conclusion is important in clarifying the identity of the new nation, as well as defining the powers granted to the new government.Many of the delegates to the Second Continental Convention saw the Declaration of Independence as important because of the message it would send to foreign nations.They were especially concerned with enlisting the military help of the French in their war against Great Britain.They therefore thought it necessary to assert clearly that they had no allegiance or connection to Great Britain.The new nation is not only named in this conclusion as the United States of America, but its authority is defined as well.The conclusion serves to establish the authority of the Second Continental Congress over issues of international affairs, war and peace, and trade.With these powers in hand, the Congress is empowered to run the affairs of government related to the declared war.However, the conclusion is unclear regarding the individual states' responsibilities to each other.The Declaration describes itself as a union of colonies, each of which is a free and independent state.This is problematic because the statement indicates that the colonies are one united whole, while simultaneously stating that each state is free and independent.A few sentences later, the Declaration states that the former colonies, “ as free and independent states,...have full power to levy war,” thereby indicating that each state, individually, has the right to levy war, make peace, etc.This inconsistency would later turn into a debate about the nature of the government of the United States.Was the United States a loose confederation of independent states, each of which could act on behalf of its own interest? Or, was the United States a strong centralized nation in which the powers of the whole were stronger than the powers of each individual state? The Declaration states that the colonists have pledged mutual allegiance, but does that mean the pledge will continue beyond the war effort?

摘自：http://

第二篇：美國獨立宣言英文原文

The Declaration of Independence

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776 THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERAICA 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 Nature and 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.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 they are among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among them, deriving their just power 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 shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than t 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.Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies;and such is now the necessity, which constrains them to alter their former systems of government.The history of the present King of Great Britain is usurpations, all having in direct object tyranny over these States.To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.He has forbidden his Governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained;and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend them.He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasion on the rights of the people.He has refused for a long time, after such dissolution, to cause others to be elected;whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise;the State remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without and convulsion within.He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states;for that purpose obstructing the laws of naturalizing of foreigners;refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the condition of new appropriations of lands.He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent of laws for establishing judiciary powers.He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their office, and the amount and payment of their salary.He has erected a multitude of new officers, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out our substances.He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislatures.He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to the civil power.He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws;giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation.For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us;For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murder which they should commit on the inhabitants of these States.For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world;For imposing taxes on us without our consent;

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury;For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses;For abolishing the free systems of English laws in a neighboring Province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule these Colonies;For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments;For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely parallel in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.He has excited domestic insurrection amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions.In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petition have been answered only by repeated injury.A prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren.We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us.We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here.We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpation, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence.They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity.We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them., as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled , appealing to the supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by authority of the good people of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United States Colonies and Independent States;that they are absolved by from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which Independent States may of right do.And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

第三篇：美國獨立宣言

有感于《獨立宣言》

姓名：黃榮威

學號：13311011

“哪里有壓迫，哪里就有反抗”像是一個亙古不變的真理。回到歷史，由于封建專制嚴重阻礙資本主義的發展，英國爆發了資產階級革命，人民反對專制王權，最后取得了勝利。而那時的美國還是英國的殖民地，當新興的美利堅民族更渴望得到自由和平等，英國殘酷的殖民統治激發了北美人民心中的怒火，一場爭取獨立的戰爭又將打響……

1776年7月4日，《獨立宣言》發表，大大鼓舞了北美人民的斗志，成為北美人民爭取獨立的旗幟，對爭取獨立戰爭的勝利起了巨大推動作用。《獨立宣言》也是一篇著名的資產階級革命文獻，它提倡資產階級的自由、平等和主權在民思想，否定了封建等級制和專制統治，否定英國對殖民地統治的合法性，宣言凝集了北美先進分子的思想，它所體現的革命精神，對獨立戰爭進程具有巨大的鼓舞和指導作用。《獨立宣言》正式向全世界宣告美國脫離英國而獨立。這標志著北美獨立戰爭進入一個新的階段，即把反抗英國殖民統治的武裝斗爭同爭取民族獨立的偉大的正義事業聯系起來。7月4日這一天，被定為美國獨立日。不難看出，《獨立宣言》在美國的歷史上有著不言而喻的重要性和人人信仰的魅力。

在中國，在我們的歷史書上，專制、斗爭、獨立、自由是我們所熟悉的名詞。《獨立宣言》的大名相信大部分學生也不會感到陌生。但可惜的是，課文上并沒有完整的《獨立宣言》。直到今天，起碼我身邊的人，沒幾個是能將《獨立宣言》從頭看了一遍的，雖然這只有幾千字。所以，我后悔早期沒有機會閱讀，這或許會帶給我更深刻的影響。但我也很驚訝，這個已影響了世界的文檔，并沒有出現在我們高中或者是大學的教材上。或許專家們認為這不是一個必要的文本。但是，正在我看來，這不能不說是我們的教育系統上一個巨大的錯誤。

且看看，《獨立宣言》作為美國立國精神的最重要的文獻之一，深深地影響了美國未來的發展。自1776年以來，“人人生而平等”作為美國立國的基本原則，作為人們的信念和理想，一直為后人所傳頌。

可以毫不猶豫的說，《獨立宣言》推動了世界歷史的發展。《獨立宣言》最重要的作用是將歐洲啟蒙運動時期產生的天賦人權和社會契約思想轉化為現實政治的原則，它標志著美洲和人類歷史上一種新的政治生態環境的開端。《獨立宣言》是一個偉大的歷史文件，它在人類歷史上，第一次以國家的名義宣布人民的權利為神圣不可侵犯的。它比法國的《人權宣言》早13年，由于它是最單的闡明了天賦人權的政治綱領，因此馬克思稱它是“第一個人權宣言”。《獨立宣言》充滿著革命精神，在人類歷史上第一次以政治綱領的形式宣告了民主共和國的原則，徹底摧毀了封建專制主義的理論根基，將人民主權首次貫徹到了新興資產階級的建國實踐中。它直接影響了1789年的法國大革命，推動了整個歐洲的反封建斗爭，也給拉丁美洲和亞洲民族獨立運動以巨大推動力。宣言所體現的民主共和思想，也使中國資產階級思想家受到啟迪和鼓舞，為辛亥革命爆發奠定了思想基礎，推動了中華民族解放運動的發展。

我一直很欣賞《獨立宣言》中“人人生而平等”的主張，在《人權宣言》中它又被進一步被闡發為“人生來是而且始終是自由的，在權利方面是平等的。”這也是人類最純真，最樸實的一個共同愿望，即使是現在，人們還力求建設公平社會。而佛教中也倡導“眾生平等”，但是他宣傳的是極樂世界的“平等”，產生了麻醉民眾的消極作用，面對殘暴的專制統治，信徒們就不會予以反抗。可是《獨立宣言》是建立在現實的基礎之上的。是殖民地人民反英斗爭的旗幟，大大鼓舞了北美人民的革命斗志，激勵美國人民為實現獨立的崇高目標而英勇戰斗。

托馬斯·杰斐遜起草的《獨立宣言》,是政府的基本語句,是它獲取權力的源頭。它開始于那些屬于每個人的不可剝奪的權利。所有的來保護的這些權利的力量只能由人民掌控，由政府練習。

《獨立宣言》中有一句話給我留下了深刻的印象。“我們認為這些真理是不言而喻的,人人生而平等,他們被造物主賦予某些不可剝奪的權利,其中包括生命權、自由權和追求幸福的權利。”它告訴世界,每個人都想擁有，也應該值得擁有他們的獨立性。我認為這是一個非常重要的句子。

“我有一個夢想,有一天,這個國家將站起來,并活出它的信條的真正含義:我們認為這些真理是不言而喻的：人人生而平等。”你能認出這個句子嗎?是的,這個句子援引馬丁·路德·金在他著名的《我有一個夢想”的演講。是的，讀了《獨立宣言》后，偉大的金領略了其深藏的內涵。作為普通學生的我們是否也應該從中學習一下呢？這個只能留給我們自己思考了。

最后，我認為“獨立宣言”意味著我們生活在一個自由的國家，仍然是要保護我們的權利，天賦人權。我們任何人都應該相互欣賞。愿我們生活在一個和平、自由的世界。

第四篇：美國獨立宣言 英文版

美國《獨立宣言》（英文稿）

The Declaration of Independence

Action of Second Continental Congress, July 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America

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.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.Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Colonies;and such is now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.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.To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World.HE has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public Good.HE has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing Importance, unless suspended in their Operation till his Assent should be obtained;and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.HE has refused to pass other Laws for the Accommodation of large Districts of People, unless those People would relinquish the Right of Representation in the Legislature, a Right inestimable to them, and formidable to Tyrants only.HE has called together Legislative Bodies at Places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the Depository of their public Records, for the sole Purpose of fatiguing them into Compliance with his Measures.HE has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly Firmness his Invasions on the Rights of the People.HE has refused for a long Time, after such Dissolutions, to cause others to be elected;whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of the Annihilation, have returned to the People

at large for their exercise;the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the Dangers of Invasion from without, and the Convulsions within.HE has endeavoured to prevent the Population of these States;for that Purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners;refusing to pass others to encourage their Migrations hither, and raising the Conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.HE has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.HE has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the Tenure of their Offices, and the Amount and Payment of their Salaries.HE has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms of Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their Substance.HE has kept among us, in Times of Peace, Standing Armies, without the consent of our Legislatures.HE has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.HE has combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws;giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: FOR quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us;FOR protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States: FOR cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World: FOR imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: FOR depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of Trial by Jury: FOR transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended Offences: FOR abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an arbitrary Government, and enlarging its Boundaries, so as to render it at once an Example and fit Instrument for introducing the same absolute Rules into these Colonies: FOR taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: FOR suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with Power to legislate for us in all Cases whatsoever.HE has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.HE has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our Towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People.HE is, at this Time, transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the Works of Death, Desolation, and Tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous Ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized Nation.HE has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the Executioners of their Friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.HE has excited domestic Insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes and Conditions.IN every stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress in the most

humble Terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated Injury.A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People.NOR have we been wanting in Attentions to our British Brethren.We have warned them from Time to Time of Attempts by their Legislature to extend an

unwarrantable Jurisdiction over us.We have reminded them of the Circumstances of our Emigration and Settlement here.We have appealed to their native Justice

and Magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the Ties of our common Kindred to disavow these Usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our Connections and Correspondence.They too have been deaf to the Voice of Justice and of

Consanguinity.We must, therefore, acquiesce in the Necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of Mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace, Friends.WE, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in GENERAL CONGRESS, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United

Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES;that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Connection between them and the State of Great-Britain, is and ought to be

totally dissolved;and that as FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do

all other Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT STATES may of right do.And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.John Hancock.GEORGIA, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, Geo.Walton.NORTH-CAROLINA, Wm.Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn.SOUTH-CAROLINA, Edward Rutledge, Thos Heyward, junr., Thomas Lynch, junr., Arthur Middleton.MARYLAND, Samuel Chase, Wm.Paca, Thos.Stone, Charles Carroll, of Carrollton.VIRGINIA, George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Ths.Jefferson, Benja.Harrison, Thos.Nelson, jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton.PENNSYLVANIA, Robt.Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benja.Franklin, John Morton, Geo.Clymer, Jas.Smith, Geo.Taylor, James Wilson, Geo.Ross.DELAWARE, Caesar Rodney, Geo.Read.NEW-YORK, Wm.Floyd, Phil.Livingston, Frank Lewis, Lewis Morris.NEW-JERSEY, Richd.Stockton, Jno.Witherspoon, Fras.Hopkinson, John Hart, Abra.Clark.NEW-HAMPSHIRE, Josiah Bartlett, Wm.Whipple, Matthew Thornton.MASSACHUSETTS-BAY, Saml.Adams, John Adams, Robt.Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry.RHODE-ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE, C.Step.Hopkins, William Ellery.CONNECTICUT, Roger Sherman, Saml.Huntington, Wm.Williams, Oliver Wolcott.IN CONGRESS, JANUARY 18, 1777.在有關人類事務的發展過程中，當一個民族必須解除其和另一個民族之間的政治聯系，并在世界各國之間依照自然法則和上帝的意旨，接受獨立和平等的地位時，出于人類輿論的尊重，必須把他們不得不獨立的原因予以宣布。

我們認為下面這些真理是不言而喻的：人人生而平等，造物者賦予他們若干不可剝奪的權利，其中包括生命權、自由權和追求幸福的權利。為了保障這些權利，人類才在他們之間建立政府，而政府之正當權力，是經被治理者的同意而產生的。當任何形式的政府對這些目標具破壞作用時，人民便有權力改變或廢除它，以建立一個新的政府；其賴以奠基的原則，其組織權力的方式，務使人民認為唯有這樣才最可能獲得他們的安全和幸福。為了慎重起見，成立多年的政府，是不應當由于輕微和短暫的原因而予以變更的。過去的一切經驗也都說明，任何苦難，只要是尚能忍受，人類都寧愿容忍，而無

意為了本身的權益便廢除他們久已習慣了的政府。但是，當追逐同一目標的一連串濫用職權和強取豪奪發生，證明政府企圖把人民置于專制統治之下時，那么人民就有權利，也有義務推翻這個政府，并為他們未來的安全建立新的保障－－這就是這些殖民地過去逆來順受的情況，也是它們現在不得不改變以前政府制度的原因。當今大不列顛國王的歷史，是接連不斷的傷天害理和強取豪奪的歷史，這些暴行的唯一目標，就是想在這些州建立專制的暴政。為了證明所言屬實，現把下列事實向公正的世界宣布：

他拒絕批準對公眾利益最有益、最必要的法律。

他禁止他的總督們批準迫切而極為必要的法律，要不就把這些法律擱置起來暫不生效，等待他的同意；而一旦這些法律被擱置起來，他對它們就完全置之不理。

他拒絕批準便利廣大地區人民的其它法律，除非那些人民情愿放棄自己在立法機關中的代表權；但這種權利對他們有無法估量的價值，而且只有暴君才畏懼這種權利。

他把各州立法團體召集到異乎尋常的、極為不便的、遠離它們檔案庫的地方去開會，唯一的目的是使他們疲于奔命，不得不順從他的意旨。

他一再解散各州的議會，因為它們以無畏的堅毅態度反對他侵犯人民的權利。

他在解散各州議會之后，又長期拒絕另選新議會；但立法權是無法取消的，因此這項權力仍由一般人民來行使。其實各州仍然處于危險的境地，既有外來侵略之患，又有發生內亂之憂。

他竭力抑制我們各州增加人口；為此目的，他阻撓外國人入籍法的通過，拒絕批準其它鼓勵外國人移居各州的法律，并提高分配新土地的條件。

他拒絕批準建立司法權力的法律，藉以阻撓司法工作的推行。

他把法官的任期、薪金數額和支付，完全置于他個人意志的支配之下。

他建立新官署，派遣大批官員，騷擾我們人民，并耗盡人民必要的生活物質。

他在和平時期，未經我們的立法機關同意，就在我們中間維持常備軍。

他力圖使軍隊獨立于民政之外，并凌駕于民政之上。

他同某些人勾結起來把我們置于一種不適合我們的體制且不為我們的法律所承認的管轄之下；他還批準那些人炮制的各種偽法案來達到以下目的：

在我們中間駐扎大批武裝部隊；

用假審訊來包庇他們，使他們殺害我們各州居民而仍然逍遙法外；

切斷我們同世界各地的貿易；

未經我們同意便向我們強行征稅；

在許多案件中剝奪我們享有陪審制的權益；

羅織罪名押送我們到海外去受審；

在一個鄰省廢除英國的自由法制，在那裹建立專制政府，并擴大該省的疆界，企圖把該省變成既是一個樣板又是一個得心應手的工具，以便進而向這里的各殖民地推行同樣的極權統治；

取消我們的憲章，廢除我們最寶貴的法律，并且根本上改變我們各州政府的形式；

中止我們自己的立法機關行使權力，宣稱他們自己有權就一切事宜為我們制定法律。

他宣布我們已不屬他保護之列，并對我們作戰，從而放棄了在這里的政務。

他在我們的海域大肆掠奪，蹂躪我們沿海地區，焚燒我們的城鎮，殘害我們人民的生命。

他此時正在運送大批外國傭兵來完成屠殺、破壞和肆虐的勾當，這種勾當早就開始，其殘酷卑劣甚至在最野蠻的時代都難以找到先例。他完全不配作為一個文明國家的元首。

他在公海上俘虜我們的同胞，強迫他們拿起武器來反對自己的國家，成為殘殺自己親人和朋友的劊子手，或是死于自己的親人和朋友的手下。

他在我們中間煽動內亂，并且竭力挑唆那些殘酷無情、沒有開化的印第安人來殺掠我們邊疆的居民；而眾所周知，印第安人的作戰規律是不分男女老幼，一律格殺勿論的。

在這些壓迫的每一陷階段中，我們都是用最謙卑的言辭請求改善；但屢次請求所得到的答復是屢次遭受損害。一個君主，當他的品格已打上了暴君行為的烙印時，是不配作自由人民的統治者的。

我們不是沒有顧念我們英國的弟兄。我們時常提醒他們，他們的立法機關企圖把無理的管轄權橫加到我們的頭上。我們也曾把我們移民來這里和在這里定居的情形告訴他們。我們曾經向他們天生的正義善感和雅量呼吁，我們懇求他們念在同種同宗的份上，棄絕這些掠奪行為，以免影響彼此的關系和往來。但是他們對于這種正義和血緣的呼聲，也同樣充耳不聞。因此，我們實在不得不宣布和他們脫離，并且以對待世界上其它民族一樣的態度對待他們：和我們作戰，就是敵人；和我們和好，就是朋友。

因此，我們，在大陸會議下集會的美利堅聯盟代表，以各殖民地善良人民的名義，并經他們授權，向全世界最崇高的正義呼吁，說明我們的嚴正意向，同時鄭重宣布；這些聯合一致的殖民地從此是自由和獨立的國家，并且按其權利也必須是自由和獨立的國家，它們取消一切對英國王室效忠的義務，它們和大不列顛國家之間的一切政治關系從此全部斷絕，而且必須斷絕；作為自由獨立的國家，它們完全有權宣戰、締和、結盟、通商和采取獨立國家有權采取的一切行動。

為了支持這篇宣言，我們堅決信賴上帝的庇佑，以我們的生命、我們的財產和我們神圣的名譽，相互保證，共同宣誓。

第五篇：美國《獨立宣言-The Declaration of Independence》全文(中文英文對照)

The Declaration of Independence

《獨立宣言》

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

1776年7月4日，國會

THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERAICA

《美利堅合眾國十三個州的一致宣言》

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 Nature and 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.在人類事務的進程中，當一個民族必須解除同另一個民族的政治聯系，并按照自然和上帝賦予他們的法則，以獨立平等的身份，立于世界列國之林時，出于對人類輿論的尊重，必須把驅使他們獨立的原因予以宣布。

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 they are among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.我們認為下述真理是不言而喻的：人人生而平等，造物主賦予他們若干不可讓與的權利，其中包括生存權、自由權和追求幸福的權利。

That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among them, deriving their just power 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.為了保障這些權利，人們才在他們中間建立政府，而政府的正當權利，則是經被統治者同意授予的。任何形式的政府一旦對這些目標的實現起破壞作用時，人民便有權予以更換或廢除，以建立一個新的政府。新政府所依據的原則和組織其權利的方式，務使人民認為唯有這樣才最有可能使他們獲得安全和幸福。

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes;and accordingly all experience hath shown 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.若真要審慎的來說，成立多年的政府是不應當由于無關緊要的和一時的原因而予以更換的。過去的一切經驗都說明，任何苦難，只要尚能忍受，人類還是情愿忍受，也不想為申冤而廢除他們久已習慣了的政府形式。然而，當始終追求同一目標的一系列濫用職權和強取豪奪的行為表明政府企圖把人民至于專制暴政之下時，人民就有權也有義務去推翻這樣的政府，并為其未來的安全提供新的保障。

Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies;and such is now the necessity, which constrains them to alter their former systems of government.The history of the present King of Great Britain is usurpations, all having in direct object tyranny over these States.To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.這就是這些殖民地過去忍受苦難的經過，也是他們現在不得不改變政府制度的原因。當今大不列顛王國 的歷史，就是屢屢傷害和掠奪這些殖民地的歷史，其直接目標就是要在各州之上建立一個獨裁暴政。為了證明上述句句屬實，現將事實公諸于世，讓公正的世人作出評判。

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.他拒絕批準對公眾利益最有益、最必需的法律。

He has forbidden his Governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained;and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend them.他禁止他的殖民總督批準刻不容緩、極端重要的法律，要不就先行擱置這些法律直至征得他的同意，而這些法律被擱置以后，他又完全置之不理。

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.他拒絕批準便利大地區人民的其他的法律，除非這些地區的人民情愿放棄自己在立法機構中的代表權；而代表權對人民是無比珍貴的，只有暴君才畏懼它。

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.他把各州的立法委員召集到一個異乎尋常、極不舒適而又遠離他們的檔案庫的地方去開會，其目的無非是使他們疲憊不堪被迫就范。

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasion on the rights of the people.他一再解散各州的眾議院，因為后者堅決反對他侵犯人民的權利。

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolution, to cause others to be elected;whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise;the State remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without and convulsion within.他在解散眾議院之后，又長期拒絕另選他人，于是這項不可剝奪的立法權便歸由普通人民來行使，致使在這其間各州仍處于外敵入侵和內部騷亂的種種危險之中。

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states;for that purpose obstructing the laws of naturalizing of foreigners;refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the condition of new appropriations of lands.他力圖阻止各州增加人口，為此目的，他阻撓外國人入籍法的通過，拒絕批準其他鼓勵移民的法律，并提高新分配土地的條件。

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent of laws for establishing judiciary powers.他拒絕批準建立司法權力的法律，以阻撓司法的執行。

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their office, and the amount and payment of their salary.他迫使法官為了保住任期、薪金的數額和支付而置于他個人意志的支配之下。He has erected a multitude of new officers, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out our substances.他濫設新官署，委派大批官員到這里騷擾我們的人民，吞噬我們的財物。

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislatures.他在和平時期，未經我們立法機構同意，就在我們中間維持其常備軍。

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to the civil power.他施加影響使軍隊獨立于文官政權之外，并凌駕于文官政權之上。

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws;giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation.他同他人勾結，把我們置于一種既與我們的法規不相干，也未經我們的法律承認的管轄之下，而且還批準他們的偽法案；

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us;在我們中間駐扎大批的武裝部隊；

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murder which they should commit on the inhabitants of these States.不論這些人對我們各州居民犯下何等嚴重的謀殺罪，他可用虛假的審判來庇護他們，讓他們逍遙法外；

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world;他切斷我們同世界各地的貿易；

For imposing taxes on us without our consent;未經我們同意便向我們強行征稅；

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury;在許多案件中，通過傷害來剝奪我們享有陪審的權益；

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses;以莫須有的罪名把我們押送海外受審；

For abolishing the free systems of English laws in a neighboring Province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule these Colonies;他在一個鄰省廢除了英國法律的自由制度，在那里建立專制政府，擴大其疆域，使其立即成為一個樣板和合適的工具，以便向這里各殖民地推行同樣的專制統治；

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments;他取消了我們的憲章，廢除了我們最珍貴的法律，并從根本上改變了我們政府的形式；

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.他終止我們的立法機構行使權力，宣稱他們自己擁有在任何情況下為我們制定法律的權力。

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.他放棄設在這里的政府，宣稱我們已不屬他們保護之列，并向我們發動戰爭。

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.他在我們的海域里掠奪，蹂躪我們的沿海地區，燒毀我們的城鎮，殘害我們人民的生命。

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely parallel in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.他此時正在運送大批外國雇傭兵，來從事其制造死亡、荒涼和暴政的勾當，其殘忍與卑劣從一開始就連最野蠻的時代也難以相比，他已完全不配當一個文明國家的元首。

He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.他強迫我們在公海被他們俘虜的同胞拿起武器反對自己的國家，使他們成為殘殺他們自己的朋友和同胞的劊子手，或使他們死于他們自己的朋友和同胞的手下。

He has excited domestic insurrection amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions.他在我們中間煽動內亂，并竭力挑唆殘酷無情的印地安蠻子來對付我們邊疆的居民；而眾所周知，印地安人的作戰準則是不分辨男女老幼和是非曲直一律格殺勿論。

In every stage of these oppressions，we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petition have been answered only by repeated injury.A prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.在遭受這些壓迫的每一階段，我們都曾以最謙卑的言辭吁請予以糾正。而我們一次又一次的情愿，卻只是被報以一次又一次的傷害。一個君主其品格被他的每一個只有暴君才干的出的行為所暴露時，就不配君臨自由的人民。

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren.We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us.We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here.We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpation, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence.They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity.We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them., as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.我們并不是沒有想到我們英國的弟兄。他們的立法機關想把無理的管轄權擴展到我們這里來，我們時常把這個企圖通知他們。我們曾把我們移民來這里和在這里定居的情況告訴他們。我們曾懇求他們天生的正義感和雅量，念在同種同宗的分上，棄絕這些掠奪行為，因為這些掠奪行為難免會使我們之間的關系和來往中斷。可他們對這種正義和同宗的呼聲也同樣充耳不聞。因此，我們不得不宣布脫離他們，以對待世界上其他民族的態度對待他們：同我交戰者就是敵人；同我和好者即為朋友。

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled , appealing to the supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by authority of the good people of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United States Colonies and Independent States;that they are absolved by from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which Independent States may of right do.And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.因此我們這些在大陸會議上集會的美利堅合眾國的代表們，以各殖民地善良人民的名義，并經他們授權，向世界最高裁判者申訴，說明我們的嚴重意向，同時鄭重宣布：我們這些聯合起來的殖民地現在是，而且也應是獨立自由的國家；我們對英國王室效忠的全部義務，我們與大不列顛王國之間一切政治聯系全部斷絕。我們完全有權宣戰、締和、結盟、通商和采取獨立國家有權采取的一切行動。我們堅定地信賴神明上帝的保佑，同時以我們的生命、財產和神圣的名譽彼此宣誓來支持這一宣言。