Linked from

The 53 pages that link to United States Declaration of Independence, each with the reason it gives.

• American RevolutionBroader topic: It converted resistance into a formal claim of national independence.

• Social contractBroader topic: Its language of consent and the right to alter government echoes Lockean contract theory.

• Natural lawBroader topic: Its appeal to self-evident truths and unalienable rights reflects natural-law language.

• Popular sovereigntyBroader topic: It declares that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.

• Natural rightsBroader topic: Its claim that people possess unalienable rights became a landmark statement of natural-rights reasoning.

• PhiladelphiaBroader topic: The Continental Congress adopted it in Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania State House.

• Thirteen ColoniesBroader topic: It formally transformed the colonies’ resistance into a claim of national independence.

• ParallelismBroader topic: Its paired clauses use balanced syntax to state principles and grievances.

• Consent of the governedBroader topic: It declares that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.

• Atlantic revolutionsBroader topic: Its language of equality and consent shaped later arguments for self-government and exposed exclusions.

• History of the United StatesBroader topic: Its claims about rights and popular sovereignty became enduring sources of political argument.

• Two Treatises of GovernmentBroader topic: Its language of rights, consent, and resistance echoes themes associated with Locke.

• Colonial history of the United StatesBroader topic: It announced the colonies’ formal break with the empire.

• Robert R. LivingstonBroader topic: Livingston served on the committee appointed to draft the declaration, though he did not sign its final text.

• History of liberalismBroader topic: It made liberal claims about rights and consent central to a revolutionary founding.

• Natural rights and legal rightsBroader topic: Its language of unalienable rights gives a prominent political expression to natural-rights reasoning.

• William CaslonBroader topic: The first printed edition used type attributed to Caslon’s foundry.