Haitian Declaration of Independence (1804)
Editor’s Note: On January 1, 1804, after a protracted war with forces sent by Napoleon Bonaparte to quell its uprising, Haiti (formerly Saint-Domingue) declared its independence from France. It became the second colony in the Americas, following the United States, to make a formal break with its ruling country. Penned by Boisrond-Tonnerre — who composed it […]
The Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions — 1848, Seneca Falls Conference, Women’s Rights
Editor’s Note: With the Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776 as its model, the driving forces behind this declaration – which demands the recognition of women as rights-bearing citizens — was Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, anti-slavery and women’s rights activists. The declaration was issued at a convention for women’s rights held in Seneca Falls, […]
The Black Declaration of Independence (1970)
Editor’s Note: Though in some respects an adaptation of our July 4, 1776 Declaration, this time the tyrant is not King George but the endemic system of oppression and segregation that prevented Black Americans from being part of “all men are created equal.” The public proclamation issued by the National Committee of Black Churchmen on […]
Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959)
Editor’s Note: Approved by all 78 member states of the United Nations, this declaration is a first in the formal global agreement on children’s rights and the principles on which they are based. This declaration is a follow-on to the unprecedented 1924 declaration by the League of Nations (see image) endowing children the world over with […]
Faith Leaders’ Universal Declaration Against Slavery (2014)
Editor’s Note: This declaration, issued on December 2, 2014 , and signed at the Vatican by eleven leaders of many of the world’s major religions, aims to put an end to all modern manifestations of slavery, was galvanized by the Global Freedom Network. Pope Francis, in signing the document, noted that, Despite the great efforts of […]
Declaration of Independence — Commonwealth of Liberia (1847)
Editor’s Note: Liberia’s declaration, issued on July 26, 1847, is modeled after our July 4, 1776 document. It asserts that Liberia is a “free, sovereign, and independent state” and that “all men certain [have] inalienable rights; among these are life, liberty, and the right to acquire, possess, enjoy, and defend property.” Liberia distinguishes itself as the first […]
African National Congress Freedom Charter (1955)
Editor’s Note: On June 26, 1955, in Kliptown, South Africa, a ‘people’s congress,’ with several thousand attending, adopted this Charter — effectively a declaration (and it says so in the opening sentence) that calls for a non-racial democratic nation in which human rights, labor rights land reform are a centerpiece. While the ruling white South […]
Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (1948)
Editor’s note: On May 14, 1948, the day that the British Mandate, which gave Britain authority over Palestine was ended. Immediately afterward, Israel, led by David Ben-Gurion, a principal figure in the Zionist movement who would become its first Prime Minister, was declared an independent state. Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel ERETZ-ISRAEL [(Hebrew) […]
Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand (1835)
Editor’s Note: Declarations of independence don’t always set a people, but can further constrain them. Harvard historian David Armitage asserts that in the case of New Zealand, the declaration of independence signed by a preponderance of Maori indigenous group leaders, who had no input in the document, “recognized the territorial sovereignty of the Maori only […]
The Ninety-Nine Percent Declaration (2011)
Editor’s Note: This declaration appears to have been released around the beginning of November 2011. It looks to be modeled in part by both our Constitution and Declaration of July 4, 1776, and called for a July 4, 2012 ‘National General Assembly’ in Philadelphia. , A Wikipedia page describes the genesis of the nonprofit 99 Percent Declaration. On this site, someone […]
