American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man – 1948
Editor’s Note: Adopted in April 1948 at the International Conference of American States in Bogota, Colombia, this document represents the first attempt on the world stage — coming out eight months before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations — to set forth and enumerate the rights, and duties, of each […]
Memorial Letter from the Cherokee Nation to Congress – 1829
Editor’s note: Though not officially a declaration, this eloquent ‘memorial letter’ written in 1829 by tribal leaders of the Cherokee Nation and delivered to both chambers of Congress — just as it was set to debate Indian removal bills — springs in many respects from our Declaration of July 4, 1776, but also they point […]
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Editor’s Note: Adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was crafted in less than two years’ time — an amazing feat, especially given how divided among Eastern and Western factions the world was at the time as it emerged from World War II. Yet uncommon common […]
Inter-American Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (1995)
Editor’s Note: Iin 1989, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights was asked by the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) to compose a declaration of rights of “indigenous populations.” This declaration was intended to have legal standing. In February 1997, this draft declaration was endorsed by the Commission. Our understanding is that it has […]
Palestinian Declaration of Independence (1988)
Editor’s note: Composed by poet Mahmoud Darwish, the Palestinian Declaration of Independence was approved at an Algiers gathering of the Palestinian National Council on November 15, 1988. The declaration calls for an independent State of Palestine, which is described in the document as “the state of Palestinians wherever they may be.” Declaration of Independence (1988) (UN Doc) […]
Declaration of Independence, Argentina – July 9, 1816
Editor’s note: Argentina’s struggle for independence from Spain had begun a decade before the adoption of this Declaration of Independence, approved on July 9, 1816, six years after the Argentine War for Independence was launched and led by the likes of Juan Jose Castelli, Manuel Belgrano, and Jose de San Martin. The declaration represented a complete break […]
Declaration of Workers’ and Farmers’ Rights and Purposes – 1933
Editor’s Note: With our July 4, 1776 Declaration as its model, the Declaration of Workers’ and Farmers’ Rights and Purposes was the fruit of the inaugural convention of the National Unemployed Leagues, organized in Columbus, Ohio, by Dutch-born clergyman and political activist A.J. Muste, who spearheaded the Conference on Progressive Labor Action, and sparked as […]
Declaration of Independence of Venezuela – July 5, 1811
Editor’s Note: July 5, 1811 heralded Venezuela’s formal break with the Spanish crown when its members of congress approved the Venezuelan Declaration of Independence, which was clearly influenced by our July 4, 1776 declaration. In establishing an independent nation, the Venezuelan “Firma Acta de la Independencia,” or “Signing of the Act of Independence,” aimed to create a society based on […]
The Declaration Project, ready to Soar on July 2nd, 2015
The Declaration Project is an interactive site that features a comprehensive collection of declarations of independence and kindred declarations crafted in the U.S. and the world over. While the ‘Declaration Collection’ component of this project is a centerpiece, there are two other key parts to this initiative: ‘My Declaration™‘ gives you the opportunity to compose […]
Spanish Translation of July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence
From Semanario Político, Económico y Literario, Dec. 12, 1821. Cuando en el curso de los acontecimientos humanos se hace necesario para un pueblo disolver los lazos políticos que le han unido con otro y asumir entre los poderes de la tierra, el rango separado é igual, para el cual lo habilitan las leyes de la naturaleza […]
