美国独立宣言 英文版

第一篇：美国独立宣言 英文版

美国《独立宣言》（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.在有关人类事务的发展过程中，当一个民族必须解除其和另一个民族之间的政治联系，并在世界各国之间依照自然法则和上帝的意旨，接受独立和平等的地位时，出于人类舆论的尊重，必须把他们不得不独立的原因予以宣布。

我们认为下面这些真理是不言而喻的：人人生而平等，造物者赋予他们若干不可剥夺的权利，其中包括生命权、自由权和追求幸福的权利。为了保障这些权利，人类才在他们之间建立政府，而政府之正当权力，是经被治理者的同意而产生的。当任何形式的政府对这些目标具破坏作用时，人民便有权力改变或废除它，以建立一个新的政府；其赖以奠基的原则，其组织权力的方式，务使人民认为唯有这样才最可能获得他们的安全和幸福。为了慎重起见，成立多年的政府，是不应当由于轻微和短暂的原因而予以变更的。过去的一切经验也都说明，任何苦难，只要是尚能忍受，人类都宁愿容忍，而无

意为了本身的权益便废除他们久已习惯了的政府。但是，当追逐同一目标的一连串滥用职权和强取豪夺发生，证明政府企图把人民置于专制统治之下时，那么人民就有权利，也有义务推翻这个政府，并为他们未来的安全建立新的保障－－这就是这些殖民地过去逆来顺受的情况，也是它们现在不得不改变以前政府制度的原因。当今大不列颠国王的历史，是接连不断的伤天害理和强取豪夺的历史，这些暴行的唯一目标，就是想在这些州建立专制的暴政。为了证明所言属实，现把下列事实向公正的世界宣布：

他拒绝批准对公众利益最有益、最必要的法律。

他禁止他的总督们批准迫切而极为必要的法律，要不就把这些法律搁置起来暂不生效，等待他的同意；而一旦这些法律被搁置起来，他对它们就完全置之不理。

他拒绝批准便利广大地区人民的其它法律，除非那些人民情愿放弃自己在立法机关中的代表权；但这种权利对他们有无法估量的价值，而且只有暴君才畏惧这种权利。

他把各州立法团体召集到异乎寻常的、极为不便的、远离它们档案库的地方去开会，唯一的目的是使他们疲于奔命，不得不顺从他的意旨。

他一再解散各州的议会，因为它们以无畏的坚毅态度反对他侵犯人民的权利。

他在解散各州议会之后，又长期拒绝另选新议会；但立法权是无法取消的，因此这项权力仍由一般人民来行使。其实各州仍然处于危险的境地，既有外来侵略之患，又有发生内乱之忧。

他竭力抑制我们各州增加人口；为此目的，他阻挠外国人入籍法的通过，拒绝批准其它鼓励外国人移居各州的法律，并提高分配新土地的条件。

他拒绝批准建立司法权力的法律，藉以阻挠司法工作的推行。

他把法官的任期、薪金数额和支付，完全置于他个人意志的支配之下。

他建立新官署，派遣大批官员，骚扰我们人民，并耗尽人民必要的生活物质。

他在和平时期，未经我们的立法机关同意，就在我们中间维持常备军。

他力图使军队独立于民政之外，并凌驾于民政之上。

他同某些人勾结起来把我们置于一种不适合我们的体制且不为我们的法律所承认的管辖之下；他还批准那些人炮制的各种伪法案来达到以下目的：

在我们中间驻扎大批武装部队；

用假审讯来包庇他们，使他们杀害我们各州居民而仍然逍遥法外；

切断我们同世界各地的贸易；

未经我们同意便向我们强行征税；

在许多案件中剥夺我们享有陪审制的权益；

罗织罪名押送我们到海外去受审；

在一个邻省废除英国的自由法制，在那裹建立专制政府，并扩大该省的疆界，企图把该省变成既是一个样板又是一个得心应手的工具，以便进而向这里的各殖民地推行同样的极权统治；

取消我们的宪章，废除我们最宝贵的法律，并且根本上改变我们各州政府的形式；

中止我们自己的立法机关行使权力，宣称他们自己有权就一切事宜为我们制定法律。

他宣布我们已不属他保护之列，并对我们作战，从而放弃了在这里的政务。

他在我们的海域大肆掠夺，蹂躏我们沿海地区，焚烧我们的城镇，残害我们人民的生命。

他此时正在运送大批外国佣兵来完成屠杀、破坏和肆虐的勾当，这种勾当早就开始，其残酷卑劣甚至在最野蛮的时代都难以找到先例。他完全不配作为一个文明国家的元首。

他在公海上俘虏我们的同胞，强迫他们拿起武器来反对自己的国家，成为残杀自己亲人和朋友的刽子手，或是死于自己的亲人和朋友的手下。

他在我们中间煽动内乱，并且竭力挑唆那些残酷无情、没有开化的印第安人来杀掠我们边疆的居民；而众所周知，印第安人的作战规律是不分男女老幼，一律格杀勿论的。

在这些压迫的每一陷阶段中，我们都是用最谦卑的言辞请求改善；但屡次请求所得到的答复是屡次遭受损害。一个君主，当他的品格已打上了暴君行为的烙印时，是不配作自由人民的统治者的。

我们不是没有顾念我们英国的弟兄。我们时常提醒他们，他们的立法机关企图把无理的管辖权横加到我们的头上。我们也曾把我们移民来这里和在这里定居的情形告诉他们。我们曾经向他们天生的正义善感和雅量呼吁，我们恳求他们念在同种同宗的份上，弃绝这些掠夺行为，以免影响彼此的关系和往来。但是他们对于这种正义和血缘的呼声，也同样充耳不闻。因此，我们实在不得不宣布和他们脱离，并且以对待世界上其它民族一样的态度对待他们：和我们作战，就是敌人；和我们和好，就是朋友。

因此，我们，在大陆会议下集会的美利坚联盟代表，以各殖民地善良人民的名义，并经他们授权，向全世界最崇高的正义呼吁，说明我们的严正意向，同时郑重宣布；这些联合一致的殖民地从此是自由和独立的国家，并且按其权利也必须是自由和独立的国家，它们取消一切对英国王室效忠的义务，它们和大不列颠国家之间的一切政治关系从此全部断绝，而且必须断绝；作为自由独立的国家，它们完全有权宣战、缔和、结盟、通商和采取独立国家有权采取的一切行动。

为了支持这篇宣言，我们坚决信赖上帝的庇佑，以我们的生命、我们的财产和我们神圣的名誉，相互保证，共同宣誓。

第二篇：英文分析美国独立宣言

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://

第三篇：美国独立宣言英文原文

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.

第四篇：美国独立宣言

有感于《独立宣言》

姓名：黄荣威

学号：13311011

“哪里有压迫，哪里就有反抗”像是一个亘古不变的真理。回到历史，由于封建专制严重阻碍资本主义的发展，英国爆发了资产阶级革命，人民反对专制王权，最后取得了胜利。而那时的美国还是英国的殖民地，当新兴的美利坚民族更渴望得到自由和平等，英国残酷的殖民统治激发了北美人民心中的怒火，一场争取独立的战争又将打响……

1776年7月4日，《独立宣言》发表，大大鼓舞了北美人民的斗志，成为北美人民争取独立的旗帜，对争取独立战争的胜利起了巨大推动作用。《独立宣言》也是一篇著名的资产阶级革命文献，它提倡资产阶级的自由、平等和主权在民思想，否定了封建等级制和专制统治，否定英国对殖民地统治的合法性，宣言凝集了北美先进分子的思想，它所体现的革命精神，对独立战争进程具有巨大的鼓舞和指导作用。《独立宣言》正式向全世界宣告美国脱离英国而独立。这标志着北美独立战争进入一个新的阶段，即把反抗英国殖民统治的武装斗争同争取民族独立的伟大的正义事业联系起来。7月4日这一天，被定为美国独立日。不难看出，《独立宣言》在美国的历史上有着不言而喻的重要性和人人信仰的魅力。

在中国，在我们的历史书上，专制、斗争、独立、自由是我们所熟悉的名词。《独立宣言》的大名相信大部分学生也不会感到陌生。但可惜的是，课文上并没有完整的《独立宣言》。直到今天，起码我身边的人，没几个是能将《独立宣言》从头看了一遍的，虽然这只有几千字。所以，我后悔早期没有机会阅读，这或许会带给我更深刻的影响。但我也很惊讶，这个已影响了世界的文档，并没有出现在我们高中或者是大学的教材上。或许专家们认为这不是一个必要的文本。但是，正在我看来，这不能不说是我们的教育系统上一个巨大的错误。

且看看，《独立宣言》作为美国立国精神的最重要的文献之一，深深地影响了美国未来的发展。自1776年以来，“人人生而平等”作为美国立国的基本原则，作为人们的信念和理想，一直为后人所传颂。

可以毫不犹豫的说，《独立宣言》推动了世界历史的发展。《独立宣言》最重要的作用是将欧洲启蒙运动时期产生的天赋人权和社会契约思想转化为现实政治的原则，它标志着美洲和人类历史上一种新的政治生态环境的开端。《独立宣言》是一个伟大的历史文件，它在人类历史上，第一次以国家的名义宣布人民的权利为神圣不可侵犯的。它比法国的《人权宣言》早13年，由于它是最单的阐明了天赋人权的政治纲领，因此马克思称它是“第一个人权宣言”。《独立宣言》充满着革命精神，在人类历史上第一次以政治纲领的形式宣告了民主共和国的原则，彻底摧毁了封建专制主义的理论根基，将人民主权首次贯彻到了新兴资产阶级的建国实践中。它直接影响了1789年的法国大革命，推动了整个欧洲的反封建斗争，也给拉丁美洲和亚洲民族独立运动以巨大推动力。宣言所体现的民主共和思想，也使中国资产阶级思想家受到启迪和鼓舞，为辛亥革命爆发奠定了思想基础，推动了中华民族解放运动的发展。

我一直很欣赏《独立宣言》中“人人生而平等”的主张，在《人权宣言》中它又被进一步被阐发为“人生来是而且始终是自由的，在权利方面是平等的。”这也是人类最纯真，最朴实的一个共同愿望，即使是现在，人们还力求建设公平社会。而佛教中也倡导“众生平等”，但是他宣传的是极乐世界的“平等”，产生了麻醉民众的消极作用，面对残暴的专制统治，信徒们就不会予以反抗。可是《独立宣言》是建立在现实的基础之上的。是殖民地人民反英斗争的旗帜，大大鼓舞了北美人民的革命斗志，激励美国人民为实现独立的崇高目标而英勇战斗。

托马斯·杰斐逊起草的《独立宣言》,是政府的基本语句,是它获取权力的源头。它开始于那些属于每个人的不可剥夺的权利。所有的来保护的这些权利的力量只能由人民掌控，由政府练习。

《独立宣言》中有一句话给我留下了深刻的印象。“我们认为这些真理是不言而喻的,人人生而平等,他们被造物主赋予某些不可剥夺的权利,其中包括生命权、自由权和追求幸福的权利。”它告诉世界,每个人都想拥有，也应该值得拥有他们的独立性。我认为这是一个非常重要的句子。

“我有一个梦想,有一天,这个国家将站起来,并活出它的信条的真正含义:我们认为这些真理是不言而喻的：人人生而平等。”你能认出这个句子吗?是的,这个句子援引马丁·路德·金在他著名的《我有一个梦想”的演讲。是的，读了《独立宣言》后，伟大的金领略了其深藏的内涵。作为普通学生的我们是否也应该从中学习一下呢？这个只能留给我们自己思考了。

最后，我认为“独立宣言”意味着我们生活在一个自由的国家，仍然是要保护我们的权利，天赋人权。我们任何人都应该相互欣赏。愿我们生活在一个和平、自由的世界。

第五篇：美国《独立宣言-The Declaration of Independence》全文(中文英文对照)

The Declaration of Independence

《独立宣言》

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

1776年7月4日，国会

THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERAICA

《美利坚合众国十三个州的一致宣言》

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.在人类事务的进程中，当一个民族必须解除同另一个民族的政治联系，并按照自然和上帝赋予他们的法则，以独立平等的身份，立于世界列国之林时，出于对人类舆论的尊重，必须把驱使他们独立的原因予以宣布。

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.我们认为下述真理是不言而喻的：人人生而平等，造物主赋予他们若干不可让与的权利，其中包括生存权、自由权和追求幸福的权利。

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.为了保障这些权利，人们才在他们中间建立政府，而政府的正当权利，则是经被统治者同意授予的。任何形式的政府一旦对这些目标的实现起破坏作用时，人民便有权予以更换或废除，以建立一个新的政府。新政府所依据的原则和组织其权利的方式，务使人民认为唯有这样才最有可能使他们获得安全和幸福。

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.若真要审慎的来说，成立多年的政府是不应当由于无关紧要的和一时的原因而予以更换的。过去的一切经验都说明，任何苦难，只要尚能忍受，人类还是情愿忍受，也不想为申冤而废除他们久已习惯了的政府形式。然而，当始终追求同一目标的一系列滥用职权和强取豪夺的行为表明政府企图把人民至于专制暴政之下时，人民就有权也有义务去推翻这样的政府，并为其未来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.这就是这些殖民地过去忍受苦难的经过，也是他们现在不得不改变政府制度的原因。当今大不列颠王国 的历史，就是屡屡伤害和掠夺这些殖民地的历史，其直接目标就是要在各州之上建立一个独裁暴政。为了证明上述句句属实，现将事实公诸于世，让公正的世人作出评判。

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.他拒绝批准对公众利益最有益、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.他禁止他的殖民总督批准刻不容缓、极端重要的法律，要不就先行搁置这些法律直至征得他的同意，而这些法律被搁置以后，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.他拒绝批准便利大地区人民的其他的法律，除非这些地区的人民情愿放弃自己在立法机构中的代表权；而代表权对人民是无比珍贵的，只有暴君才畏惧它。

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.他把各州的立法委员召集到一个异乎寻常、极不舒适而又远离他们的档案库的地方去开会，其目的无非是使他们疲惫不堪被迫就范。

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasion on the rights of the people.他一再解散各州的众议院，因为后者坚决反对他侵犯人民的权利。

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.他在解散众议院之后，又长期拒绝另选他人，于是这项不可剥夺的立法权便归由普通人民来行使，致使在这其间各州仍处于外敌入侵和内部骚乱的种种危险之中。

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.他力图阻止各州增加人口，为此目的，他阻挠外国人入籍法的通过，拒绝批准其他鼓励移民的法律，并提高新分配土地的条件。

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent of laws for establishing judiciary powers.他拒绝批准建立司法权力的法律，以阻挠司法的执行。

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their office, and the amount and payment of their salary.他迫使法官为了保住任期、薪金的数额和支付而置于他个人意志的支配之下。He has erected a multitude of new officers, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out our substances.他滥设新官署，委派大批官员到这里骚扰我们的人民，吞噬我们的财物。

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislatures.他在和平时期，未经我们立法机构同意，就在我们中间维持其常备军。

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to the civil power.他施加影响使军队独立于文官政权之外，并凌驾于文官政权之上。

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.他同他人勾结，把我们置于一种既与我们的法规不相干，也未经我们的法律承认的管辖之下，而且还批准他们的伪法案；

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us;在我们中间驻扎大批的武装部队；

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murder which they should commit on the inhabitants of these States.不论这些人对我们各州居民犯下何等严重的谋杀罪，他可用虚假的审判来庇护他们，让他们逍遥法外；

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world;他切断我们同世界各地的贸易；

For imposing taxes on us without our consent;未经我们同意便向我们强行征税；

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury;在许多案件中，通过伤害来剥夺我们享有陪审的权益；

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses;以莫须有的罪名把我们押送海外受审；

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;他在一个邻省废除了英国法律的自由制度，在那里建立专制政府，扩大其疆域，使其立即成为一个样板和合适的工具，以便向这里各殖民地推行同样的专制统治；

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments;他取消了我们的宪章，废除了我们最珍贵的法律，并从根本上改变了我们政府的形式；

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.他终止我们的立法机构行使权力，宣称他们自己拥有在任何情况下为我们制定法律的权力。

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.他放弃设在这里的政府，宣称我们已不属他们保护之列，并向我们发动战争。

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.他在我们的海域里掠夺，蹂躏我们的沿海地区，烧毁我们的城镇，残害我们人民的生命。

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.他此时正在运送大批外国雇佣兵，来从事其制造死亡、荒凉和暴政的勾当，其残忍与卑劣从一开始就连最野蛮的时代也难以相比，他已完全不配当一个文明国家的元首。

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.他强迫我们在公海被他们俘虏的同胞拿起武器反对自己的国家，使他们成为残杀他们自己的朋友和同胞的刽子手，或使他们死于他们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.他在我们中间煽动内乱，并竭力挑唆残酷无情的印地安蛮子来对付我们边疆的居民；而众所周知，印地安人的作战准则是不分辨男女老幼和是非曲直一律格杀勿论。

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.在遭受这些压迫的每一阶段，我们都曾以最谦卑的言辞吁请予以纠正。而我们一次又一次的情愿，却只是被报以一次又一次的伤害。一个君主其品格被他的每一个只有暴君才干的出的行为所暴露时，就不配君临自由的人民。

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.我们并不是没有想到我们英国的弟兄。他们的立法机关想把无理的管辖权扩展到我们这里来，我们时常把这个企图通知他们。我们曾把我们移民来这里和在这里定居的情况告诉他们。我们曾恳求他们天生的正义感和雅量，念在同种同宗的分上，弃绝这些掠夺行为，因为这些掠夺行为难免会使我们之间的关系和来往中断。可他们对这种正义和同宗的呼声也同样充耳不闻。因此，我们不得不宣布脱离他们，以对待世界上其他民族的态度对待他们：同我交战者就是敌人；同我和好者即为朋友。

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.因此我们这些在大陆会议上集会的美利坚合众国的代表们，以各殖民地善良人民的名义，并经他们授权，向世界最高裁判者申诉，说明我们的严重意向，同时郑重宣布：我们这些联合起来的殖民地现在是，而且也应是独立自由的国家；我们对英国王室效忠的全部义务，我们与大不列颠王国之间一切政治联系全部断绝。我们完全有权宣战、缔和、结盟、通商和采取独立国家有权采取的一切行动。我们坚定地信赖神明上帝的保佑，同时以我们的生命、财产和神圣的名誉彼此宣誓来支持这一宣言。