Chapter 6 page 3

THE AMERICAN ENGLISH EXPRESS Chapter 6 page 3

The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America

The document begins

“IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,”

· First of all, what does ‘in congress’ mean?

A ‘congress’ is a ‘gathering’. In this case, this was a gathering of representatives of the colonies specifically called together to consider independence from Great Britain. ‘in congress’ means that they are all present at the time of the declaration (the moment of signing). · Next, what is the significance of July 4^th?

When I ask this in class, I usually hear, “The fourth of July”, then “Independence Day”. Then I ask, “Independence from what?” and “why July 4^th?”

I point out to the students that this is the date the document was signed, and the American celebration of Independence Day or July 4^th is a celebration of this document and what it meant and continues to mean to the people of this country and the world (freedom).

Thomas Jefferson

What does the word ‘unanimous’ mean? Look it up! It means ‘everyone agrees’ (uncontested). In this case, all thirteen states (also called colonies) agreed on this declaration. At this point I ask my students to list the thirteen ‘original colonies’ I usually tell them to look this up in an encyclopedia or on the Internet (world wide web).

[You should do this!]

· What is a ‘declaration’? Look it up! It is a statement, an announcement, or a proclamation.

The document continues:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

· What does the word “course” mean as used here? Look it up!

Please note that this is not the word ‘coarse’, a homonym that means rough or crude or rude. Look it up! The word ‘course’ means ‘path’ or ‘way’ or ‘road’ (as in ‘golf course’).

So what do you think the phrase “When in the course of human events” means? It means ‘the road that the nation has traveled through time’ or ‘when in human history’.

· What does the phrase “one people” mean?

I know what a person is: a person is an individual. And I know that ‘persons’ is the plural of person, as in, “I gave my telephone number to two persons.” (This is not a common usage, but acceptable.) And I know what ‘people’ means; it means more than one person. I could as easily write, “I gave my telephone number to two people.”

But what does ‘a people’ mean? It refers to the inhabitants of an area or a group of people who share a common culture, heritage, language and/or customs.

Here, the phrase ‘a people’ means the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies. This document is identifying them or defining them as one group with similar interests. Remember ‘we the people’ from the Constitution? Here ‘a people’ is used in a similar fashion: ‘we the people’ and ‘a people’ refer to the same ‘people’, the citizens of the United States. ‘A people’ in the Declaration became “we the people’ in the Constitution.

· What does the word “dissolve” mean? Look it up!

One meaning is to ‘disband’ or ‘break up’. That is the meaning in this case.

Another meaning of the word is scientific: When you put sugar in your coffee, for example, it ‘dissolves’ or ‘becomes part of’ the solution (coffee and water). The sugar is said to ‘dissolve’ into the coffee. It disappears. (If you put so much sugar in your coffee that it can’t dissolve any more, you have ‘saturated’ the solution.)

· What does the word “bands” means as used here? Look it up!

A ‘band’ could be a stripe, a strip, a belt, or a ring, as in a band of color along the wall. Or, commonly, a ‘band’ is a group that plays music, isn’t it? ‘Band’ has another meaning, however, to ‘pull together’ or to ‘be together’. A musical band is called a ‘band’ because all of the musicians play together. They have ‘banded’ together to create music. A wedding ring is called a wedding ‘band’ as it signifies the joining together of two people. It is this sense of the word band that is used here: a union or a bond.

What does the phrase “political bands” mean in this context? If a wedding ring symbolizes a ‘band of love’ (or a ‘bond of love’), then ‘political band’ would be the ‘power’ bond between the colonies and the mother country (between America and England).’Political” refers to politics, which is the study of power relationships. Therefore, ‘political bands’ means the ‘power relationship’ or ‘bond’ between the two countries.

Therefore, ‘dissolving the political bands which have connected them with another’ means that the colonies would no longer be colonies of England, but, together would form a new, independent country (the United States).

· What does the word “assume” mean? Look it up!

It means ‘to take upon oneself’. For example, I can assume the responsibility of looking up these words in the dictionary. That means I take it upon myself to be responsible for this and to do it.

· What does the phrase “among the powers of the earth” mean?

Does it refer to wind and rain and rivers and oceans and sunlight? These are all ‘powers’ in that they are ‘powerful’? No!

Once again, this is a political document; therefore “power” as used here, refers to politics. In political science, a ‘power’ is a country with military (or economic or social) force. The ‘powers’ of the earth refers (chiefly) to the European nations that existed at the time (which included England, France, Spain, Portugal, Russia, and Austria).

· What does the word “station” mean? Look it up!

Most commonly, today, when we hear the word ‘station’, we think of a train stop or bus depot. Yet this word also means ‘position’ or ‘post’ or ‘rank’.

Therefore, the ‘phrase ‘separate and equal station’ means that the new country which has declared itself to be independent (by cutting or ‘severing’ the political bonds between themselves and England) should have the same respect as every other independent nation.

Earning the respect of other countries was very important to Jefferson and the other signers of the Declaration of Independence. Much of the language used and the ‘argument’ that the Declaration puts forth (presents) is designed to convince the world that the colonists were correct in their actions and were therefore worthy of the respect of other countries.

The new country (the United States) was called an ‘experiment in democracy’. The people of the colonies were taking a great chance: war with England could end in their deaths or imprisonment. If they were able to have the support of some of the other ‘powers’, then perhaps they could succeed in their effort to be independent of England. (In fact, England’s greatest enemy of the time was France, and France did help the American colonists in their war of independence from England).