Penguin Guide to the United States Constitution: A Fully Annotated Declaration of Independence Read Online Free Page A

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.
    GEORGIA
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton
     
    NORTH CAROLINA
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
     
    SOUTH CAROLINA
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton
     
    MASSACHUSETTS
John Hancock
     
    MARYLAND
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of
Carrollton
     
    VIRGINIA
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot
Lee
Carter Braxton
     
    PENNSYLVANIA
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
     
    DELAWARE
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean
     
    NEW YORK
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
     
    NEW JERSEY
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark
     
    NEW HAMPSHIRE
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
     
    MASSACHUSETTS
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
     
    RHODE ISLAND
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
     
    CONNECTICUT
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
     
    NEW HAMPSHIRE
Matthew Thornton
    As the Declaration reaches its conclusion, it asserts for the first time that the contemplated action is one taken by the representatives of the “united States of America.” And then comes the operative sentence of the Declaration of Independence: “that these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States,” that they no longer have any allegiance or obligation to the British Crown or the British nation. Implicit in the final two sentences of the document is a promise whose means of fulfillment was at that moment very much unknown. The “United Colonies” were not only declaring their independence but stating their intention, as independent and united states, to carry out a war against one of the world’s most formidable military powers, to negotiate a successful peace, to make alliances with other nations, to promote commerce, “and do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.” The Americans intended not only to form independent states but also to find ways in which those independent states could unite in common cause. And to fulfill their commitment to that common cause, the Americans, in the final line of the Declaration of Independence, pledged “to each other, our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
     
     
     
     
    WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
    The preamble to the Constitution is a statement of aspiration—a promise to Americans about the things that the new federal government intended to achieve for “We the People of the United States.” Some of the specific objects of government stated in the preamble—the establishment of justice, insuring the peaceful operation of society, and providing for the common defense—had long been understood to be the primary responsibilities of any government. The promises to promote the general welfare and to “secure the Blessings of Liberty” are more open-ended, suggesting that the government’s responsibilities extend not