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In the United States today, the Declaration of Independence hangs on schoolroom walls, but foreign policy follows Machiavelli. -- Howard Zinn
Our founders got it right when they wrote in the Declaration of Independence that our rights come from nature and nature's God, not from government. -- Paul Ryan
The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Civil War-when I really think about them they all seem about as likely as the parting of the Red Sea. -- Sarah Vowell
The Declaration of Independence I always considered as a theatrical show. Jefferson ran away with all the stage effect of that... and all the glory of it. -- John Adams
Robert Treat Paine was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. -- Treat Williams
Nature has never read the Declaration of Independence. It continues to make us unequal. -- Will Durant
Be polite; write diplomatically; even in a declaration of war one observes the rules of politeness. -- Otto von Bismarck
In the progress of personality, first comes a declaration of independence, then a recognition of interdependence. -- Henry Van Dyke
It took us in this country 11 years to get from the Declaration of Independence to the Constitution. -- Mitch McConnell
I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence. -- Abraham Lincoln
In America we have a Declaration of Independence, but our history, our advancements, our global strength all point to an American declaration of interdependence. -- Cory Booker
The Declaration of Independence was to set forth the moral justification of a rebellion against a long-recognized political tradition - the divine right of kings. -- Ezra Taft Benson
Many a revolution started with the actions of a few. Only 56 men signed the Declaration of Independence. A few hanging together can lead a nation to change. -- Wynton Marsalis
In the over two centuries since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, millions of Americans have bravely served our nation in uniform so that all generations can continue to enjoy those same liberties. -- Doc Hastings
The assertion that 'all men are created equal' was of no practical use in effecting our separation from Great Britain and it was placed in the Declaration not for that, but for future use. -- Abraham Lincoln
Tens of thousands of brave Americans died to break the chains of British tyranny so that the principles of our Declaration of Independence could take fold and flourish in the birth of a new nation. -- Jim Gerlach
Freedom of religion is a principle that is central to our Nation's Declaration of Independence. Congress has taken this positive step to protect our freedom to express allegiance to America's flag and the ideals it represents. -- Ron Lewis
If the Constitution is worth anything, if the Declaration of Independence is worth anything, if the boys who died on the field of battle did not die in vain, fair employment practices are correct and necessary. -- Dennis Chavez
The Declaration of Independence was always our vision of who we wanted to be, our ideal of freedom and justice, how we were going to be different, and what the American experiment was going to be about. -- Marian Wright Edelman
As corollaries to the right of every individual to life and to full participation in society, the Declaration incorporated in the list of human rights the right to work and a certain number of economic, social, and cultural rights. -- Rene Cassin
The Declaration of Independence says when government fails, the people have the right to replace it. Well, New York State government has failed and the people have the right, indeed the people have the the people have the obligation, to act. -- Andrew Cuomo
The important consequences to the American States from this Declaration of Independence, considered as the ground and foundation of a future government, naturally suggest the propriety of proclaiming it in such a manner as that the people may be universally informed of it. -- John Hancock
Well, you know, Thomas Jefferson, who was the author of the Declaration of Independence said he wouldn't have any atheists in his cabinet because atheists wouldn't swear an oath to God. That was Jefferson and we have never had any Muslims in the cabinet. -- Pat Robertson
I have always believed, heretofore, in the doctrines of the Declaration of Independence, that all men are born free and equal; but of late it appears that some men are born slaves, and I regret that they are not black, so all the world might know them. -- Benjamin F. Wade
Freedom is a timeless value. The United Nations Charter calls for encouraging respect for fundamental freedoms. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights mentions freedom more than twenty times. All countries have committed to protecting individual freedoms on paper - but in practice, too many break their pledge. -- Ban Ki-moon
Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation - not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago. -- Barack Obama
I'm going to steal the Declaration of Independence. -- Nicolas Cage
But Aristotle's philosophy was the intellect's Declaration of Independence. -- Ayn Rand
The Declaration of Independence is a sacred part of American history. -- Paul Gillmor
Do not destroy that immortal emblem of humanity, the Declaration of Independence. -- Abraham Lincoln
Today's Declaration: I focus on what I want, not on what i don't want. -- T. Harv Eker
Today's Declaration: I am courageous. I am willing to act in spite of fear. -- T. Harv Eker
All Americans mourn the passing of the author of the Declaration of Independence, George Jefferson. -- Andy Borowitz
The Declaration of Independence . . . [is the] declaratory charter of our rights, and the rights of man. -- Thomas Jefferson
The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity. -- John Adams
Its Constitution--the glittering and sounding generalities of natural right which make up the Declaration of Independence. -- Rufus Choate
If the American Revolution had produced nothing but the Declaration of Independence, it would have been worthwhile. -- Samuel Eliot Morison
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights... stands as a landmark achievement in the history of human liberty. -- George W. Bush
I think the authors of that notable instrument [the Declaration of Independence] intended to include all men. -- Abraham Lincoln
Except for the Bible, the two greatest documents ever written are the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. -- Rafael Cruz
Israel does not respect the principles or purposes of the United Nations charter nor the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, -- Evo Morales
To ask whether the natural rights philosophy of the Declaration of Independence is true or false, is essentially a meaningless question. -- Carl L. Becker
. . . is it to be understood that the principles of the Declaration of Independence bear no relation to half of the human race? -- Harriet Martineau
The American Revolution and Declaration of Independence, it has often been argued, were fueled by the most radical of all American political ideas. -- Carl Bernstein
The strength of this country lies in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights and the freedom of speech and thought. -- George Soros
I would like to acquire a document autographed by John Witherspoon, who signed the Declaration of Independence and is one of my American heroes. -- Gregg Harper
The Millennium Declaration was a solemn pledge to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty. -- Kevin Watkins
In some things, we Americans leave to other countries the carrying out of the principle that stands at the head of our Declaration of Independence. -- Herman Melville
The basic human rights documents-the American Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man-were written by political, not by religious, leaders. -- Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
One battle would do more towards a Declaration of Independence than a long chain of conclusive arguments in a provincial convention or the Continental Congress. -- Samuel Adams
The last time I checked, the Constitution said, 'of the people, by the people and for the people.' That's what the Declaration of Independence says. -- William J. Clinton
Here was buried Thomas Jefferson Author of the Declaration of American Independence Of the Statute of Virginia for religious freedom & Father of the University of Virginia. -- Thomas Jefferson
Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the statute of Virginia for religious freedom, and father of the University of Virginia. -- Thomas Jefferson
Read the Declaration of Independence to your children as a tradition every Fourth of July. Make sure they understand why the word "pursuit" precedes the word "happiness." -- Jeff Bezos
Russia also declared its independence. This was approved by the Supreme Soviet, and you know and remember that there was the Declaration on the Independence of Russia. -- Boris Yeltsin
Russia also declared its independence. This was approved by the Supreme Soviet, and you know and remember that there was the Declaration on the Independence of Russia -- Boris Yeltsin
However, if the religions in essence merely repeat statements from the United Nations Human Rights Declaration, such a Declaration becomes superfluous; an ethic is more than rights. -- Hans Kung
In November 2007, the White House issued a Declaration of Principles demanding that U.S. forces must remain indefinitely in Iraq and committing Iraq to privilege American investors. -- Noam Chomsky
Women's roles are diminished for obvious reasons. It's the men whose names are on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and who were generals and soldiers. -- Cokie Roberts
The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, and the related Accra Agenda for Action, are useful policy instruments that set out the mutual responsibilities of donors and recipient countries. -- Margaret Chan
It is with great satisfaction that I learned of the adoption by consensus of the Durban Declaration against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and the intolerance associated with it -- Lionel Jospin
The right to life is guaranteed to all Americans in the Declaration of Independence, and ensuring this is upheld is the Constitutional duty of all members of Congress. -- Rand Paul
If we are negative by nature, we Americans are more human than most. The Founding Fathers loved going negative. Heck, the Declaration of Independence is one long negative ad. -- Paul Begala
I play a curator, the most American part you can think of. My work is to protect the Declaration of Independence. I work at the National Archives in Washington. -- Diane Kruger
The Lord's Prayer is 66 words, the Gettysburg Address is 286 words, and there are 1,322 words in the Declaration of Independence. Yet, government regulations on the sale of cabbage total 26,911 words. -- David McIntosh
With the adoption of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the international community sent out a clear message that gender based violence will not be tolerated. -- Jenny Shipley
The Declaration of Independence was a denial, and the first denial of a nation, of the infamous dogma that God confers the right upon one man to govern others. -- Robert Green Ingersoll
To say that there should be no immigration, yes, that is definitely contrary to the best values of America that were laid out in the Declaration of Independence and since. -- Tim Kaine
In 1776, the Americans laid before Europe that noble Declaration, which ought to be hung up in the nursery of every king, and blazoned on the porch of every royal palace -- Henry Thomas Buckle
The search for happiness has long been a dominant feature of American life. It's a byproduct of prosperity, not to mention the most famous line in the Declaration of Independence. -- Meghan Daum
If we accept the logic of the Declaration, reverence for God is not just a matter of religious faith, it is the foundation of justice and citizenship in our republic. -- Alan Keyes
The Union is much older than the Constitution. It was formed in fact, by the Articles of Association in 1774. It was matured and continued by the Declaration of Independence in 1776. -- Abraham Lincoln
The beliefs expressed in the Declaration of Independence remain a standard for our nation today. They also remain a standard for those nations across the globe striving to achieve democracy. -- Paul Gillmor
The Declaration of Independence has established certain moral confines, and governs in a manner consistent with the spirit under which our nation was founded: Love God; love thy neighbor as thyself. -- Jeremiah Denton
They were not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, they were absent in the Constitution and they were invisible in the new political democracy. They were the women of early America. -- Howard Zinn
Before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson etched across the pages of history the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence, we were here. -- Martin Luther King, Jr.
He gave me a copy of The Declaration of Independence, then he got a tattoo that says Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death. I think my boyfriend wants his freedom. -- Randy Glasbergen
Nothing important was ever accomplished without chutzpah. Columbus had chutzpah. The signers of the Declaration of Independence had chutzpah. Don't ever aim doubt at yourself. Laugh at yourself, but don't doubt yourself. -- Alan Alda
I don't have any doubts either about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Perhaps some more should be added to the list, but I don't have the slightest doubt about human rights. -- Antonio Tabucchi
The Declaration [of Independence] was a committee report, and [Tomas] Jefferson was simply the draftsman. [John] Adams's crucial role in bringing about independence in the Continental Congress has tended to get forgotten. -- Gordon S. Wood
Only the great generalizations survive. The sharp words of the Declaration of Independence, lampooned then and since as 'glittering generalities,' have turned out blazing ubiquities that will burn forever and ever. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
I consider Paine our greatest political thinker. As we have not advanced, and perhaps never shall advance, beyond the Declaration and Constitution, so Paine has had no successors who extended his principles. -- Thomas A. Edison
The Declaration of Independence, the words that launched our nation -- 1,300 words. The Bible, the word of God -- 773,000 words. The Tax Code, the words of politicians -- 7,000,000 words -- and growing! -- Steve Forbes
[John Adams] always felt that his contribution to bringing about independence went unappreciated, especially after the 1790s when [Tomas] Jefferson began to be lauded as the "author" of the Declaration of Independence. -- Gordon S. Wood
The other salient characteristic of the Declaration is its universality: it applies to all human beings without any discrimination whatever; it also applies to all territories, whatever their economic or political regime. -- Rene Cassin
When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. -- Martin Luther King, Jr.
The right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children is among the unalienable rights with which the Declaration of Independence proclaims all men [and women] are endowed by their creator. -- Antonin Scalia
A reading of the Declaration of Independence on the steps of a building is widely covered. The events that started the American Revolution were the meetings in homes, pubs, on street corners. -- Harvey Milk
On the distinctive principles of the Government ... of the U. States, the best guides are to be found in ... The Declaration of Independence, as the fundamental Act of Union of these States. -- James Madison
Terrorists and their allies believe the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the American Bill of Rights and every charter of liberty ever written are lies to be burned and destroyed and forgotten. -- George W. Bush
If the Declaration of Independence states our creed, there can be no right to abortion, since it means denying the most fundamental right of all to the unborn child, the right to life. -- Alan Keyes
For the record, I believe elected officials should talk about faith. Our founders believed the moral principles of faith were indispensable to our nation's survival. The Declaration of Independence mentions God four times. -- Gary Bauer
If the words 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' don't include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on. -- Terence McKenna
The Declaration of Independence states the the Creator gave man the right to liberty. It seems man can realize that liberty only if he does not forget the One who endowed him with it. -- Vaclav Havel
The two most important documents affecting the destiny of America are the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. Both these immortal papers relate primarily to the freedom of the individual. -- David O. McKay
A team of British lawyers has now concluded that the Declaration of Independence was illegal, and the American colonies had no right to secede from England. Well, you thought our court system was backed up. -- Jay Leno
The Declaration of Independence is so lucid were afraid of it today. It scares the hell out of every modern bureaucrat, because it tells them there comes a time when we must stop taking orders. -- Karl Hess
The Declaration on Strategic Partnership between India and Russia signed in October 2000 became a truly historic step. The developments in the first decade of the 21 century confirmed that it was a particularly significant and timely step. -- Vladimir Putin
The Declaration of Independence summarizes the civic principles of American life. It agrees with this biblical perspective when it affirms that we are all created equal and endowed by the Creator, God, with our unalienable rights. -- Alan Keyes
Now that the Emperor has accepted the Potsdam Declaration, we must lay down our arms. Obeying the Emperor's order, we shall not fight. We must keep peace and order and we shall not make any trouble. -- Seishiro Itagaki
That such a perspective of the Declaration's 'Creator God' should sound so foreign and controversial to people today is a tragic and striking sign of how far we are removed from the thinking of our colonial fathers. -- Pat Swindall
What makes the Universal Declaration an epochal document is first of all its global impetus and secondly the breadth of its claims, a commitment to a new social contract, binding on all the Governments of the world. -- John Charles Polanyi
The word 'free' is used three times in the Declaration of Independence and once in the First Amendment to the Constitution, along with 'freedom.' The word 'fair' is not used in either of our founding documents. -- Milton Friedman
If one of the drafters of the Declaration of Independence came back today, he would not be surprised about what Americans were saying and believing and articulating in their public statements. It would all sound rather familiar. -- Samuel P. Huntington
While most Americans know about the Boston Tea Party, few are aware of the Liberty Tree and how important it was to fanning the flames of rebellion that led to the revolution in 1775 and the Declaration of Independence. -- Ronald Kessler
Jefferson's Declaration of Independence is a practical document for the use of practical men. It is not a thesis for philosophers, but a whip for tyrants; it is not a theory of government but a program of action. -- Woodrow Wilson
The British were white, English, and Protestant, just as we were. They had to have some other basis on which to justify independence, and happily they were able to formulate the inalienable truths set forth in the Declaration. -- Samuel P. Huntington
Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have helped transform 13 small colonies into a great and growing nation of more than 300 people. -- George W. Bush
From the day of the Declaration...they (the American people) were bound by the laws of God, which they all, and by the laws of The Gospel, which they nearly all, acknowledge as the rules of their conduct. -- John Quincy Adams
It is hard to conceive of the utter demoralization, of the political blindness and immorality, of the patriotic dishonesty, of the cruelty and degradation of a people who supplemented the incomparable Declaration of Independence with the Fugitive Slave Law. -- Robert Green Ingersoll
It was that which gave promise that in due time the weights should be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that all should have an equal chance. This is the sentiment embodied in that Declaration of Independence. -- Abraham Lincoln
In name we had the Declaration of Independence in 1776; but we gave the lie by our acts to the words of the Declaration of Independence until 1865; and words count for nothing except in so far as they represent acts. -- Theodore Roosevelt
We stand today at the threshold of a great event both in the life of the United Nations and in the life of mankind, that is the approval by the General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. -- Eleanor Roosevelt
The International Declaration of Human Rights says the right to housing, health, education should be guaranteed to everyone. The moment these things are provided, we will have a different world order and nuclear weapons will become less of a threat. -- Bernard Lown
Those men who laid the foundation of this American government and signed he Declaration of Independence were the best spirits the God of heaven could find on the face of the earth. They were choice spirits . . . noble spirits before God. -- Wilford Woodruff
So goes America in terms of freedom, so goes the rest of the world. And so that document [Declaration of Independence] I would argue is the foundational document for freedom not just for America but for freedom around the world. -- Randy Forbes
The Universal Declaration... as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations...it not only crystallizes the political thought of our times on these matters, but it has also influenced the thinking of legislators all over the world. -- Dag Hammarskjold
If you believe in the values of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, if you're willing to work hard and play by the rules, you are part of our family. And we're proud to be with you. -- William J. Clinton
I am the happiest person I've ever met. This is what Buddhist Yoga and a healthy dose of reading the Declaration of the Independence, The Constitution and the Federalist Papers and anything else I could get my hands on has given me. -- Frederick Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell
We have had in our nation a well-celebrated Declaration of Independence. But our success as a country will depend upon a new 'Declaration of Inter-dependence.' A belief in how much we need each other, how much we share one common destiny. -- Cory Booker

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