Happy 4th
An outline of The United States Declaration of Independence , & an evaluation P1. A people have the natural right to "alter or abolish" their government if it thwarts the natural end of government, viz., "to secure" natural rights, e.g., claims to "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" (A).* P2. King George III's reign has in fact acted athwart that end in the Thirteen Colonies. C. It is therefore the natural right of the people of the Thirteen Colonies to alter or abolish King George III's reign over them. Their representatives chose the latter. Consequently the colonies were colonies no longer, but now "Free and Independent States" (ibid.). Summing up the two hundred years of history since then, that's more or less how they still are. As for the evaluation, do a people actually have the natural right to reform or rebel against bad government? The declaration seems to say that this right is from divine providence...