The Declaration of Independence
Around the World

How have the words and ideas in the Declaration of Independence impacted human rights around the world?

1776 North America

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.

Thomas Jefferson
The Declaration of Independence
Second Continental Congress
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 

The words all men are created equal have echoed throughout history.

1789 France

Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.

Marquis de Lafayette
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The National Assembly
Paris, France

 

Since 1776, there have been approximately 120 declarations of independence made by different countries and different peoples.

1848 United States

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton
The Declaration of Rights and Sentiments
Women’s Rights Convention
Seneca Falls, New York

 

What does all men are created equal mean to you?

1863 United States

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

President Abraham Lincoln
Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg Battlefield, Pennsylvania

 

Why do you think Thomas Jefferson's words have echoed as often as they have?

1930 - India and Pakistan

We believe that it is the inalienable right of the Indian people, as of any other people, to have freedom and to enjoy the fruits of their toil...

Mahatma Gandhi
Declaration of Sovereignty and Self-Rule
Indian National Congress
Lahore, Pakistan (then part of India)

 

What patterns do you notice within this timeline?

1963 United States

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.'

Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
Washington, DC

 

Whose stories and struggles are represented?

1973 United States

All men are created equal and they are endowed with certain inalienable rights . . . that’s what America is. No matter how hard you try, you cannot erase those words from the Declaration of Independence.

Harvey Milk
San Francisco, California

 

If rights can be gained, can they also be lost?

1984 China

We believe -- and we believe it so deeply that Americans know these words by heart -- we believe ``that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among those are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.'' Take an American student or teacher aside later today and ask if he or she hasn't committed those words to memory. They are from the document by which we created our nation, the Declaration of Independence.

President Ronald Reagan
Shanghai, China

 

Is all men are created equal being lived up to in our country today? When will we know when it is?

2013 United States

What makes us exceptional -- what makes us American -- is our allegiance to an idea articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago: '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.' Today we continue a never-ending journey to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time.

President Barack Obama
Second Inaugural Address
Washington, DC

 

What victories in the struggle for human rights are missing from this timeline?

2014 Tunisia

Taking pride in the struggle of our people to gain independence and build the state, to free ourselves from tyranny, to affirm our free will...A political system ... that guarantees respect for human rights and freedoms, independence of the judiciary, equality of rights and duties between all citizens, male and female, and equality between all regions...

The Constitution of the Tunisian Republic

 

The Declaration of Independence was written over 200 years ago.
Will it still be relevant in another 200?

What Comes Next?

This ball of liberty, I believe […], is now so well in motion that it will roll round the globe.

Thomas Jefferson
Letter to Tench Coxe, June 1, 1795
Monticello, Virginia, United States of America

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Credits

The Declaration of Independence Around the World

Sources for Quotations

All sources last checked on September 24, 2018.