“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 …”

THE AMERICAN colonists started to get disgusted with being ruled by the English in the 1760s. This discontent grew for years — even though the colonials continued to think of themselves as being English.

Some of the disgust came from having British troops stationed here. When a crowd of colonials harassed a British sentry on March 5, 1770, the soldiers fired on the colonials in what became known as the Boston Massacre. Five colonials died.

THINGS CAME to a head in 1776 after the publication of Thomas Paine’s pamphlet “Common Sense.” Paine was highly critical of the British monarchy and called for independence. On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee suggested that Congress pass a resolution for independence. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston and Roger Sherman were appointed to a committee to write that resolution.

The first draft — written mostly by Jefferson — was approved on July 2 by delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies with New York abstaining. During the debate which followed, two clauses were deleted, one condemning the British people and one denouncing the slave trade.

On July 4, 1776, the amended declaration was passed. Although imperfect, it has stood for 224 years as one of the high points of human civilization and creativity. Other countries have modeled similar declarations after it.

It remains worth copying.