Declaration Project

Declaration of the Freedom-Loving People of China

Editor’s Note: I first found mention of this valiant Declaration on The Federalist’s website: [It’s worth mentioning that as soon as I then accessed this Declaration on Facebook, my account was immediately locked, with Facebook then writing me to say that someone may have tried to access my account without my knowledge/consent. Hmmm… I wonder […]

Declaration of Independence of Lower Canada (Feb. 22, 1838)

Editor’s Note: The leading insurrection Robert Nelson wrote the declaration of independence for the breakaway republic of Lower Canada (what is today Quebec) while in exile in the United States, following the rebellion of 1837, an uprising sparked by the lack of political reform. Clearly inspired in part by the July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence of the U.S., as well […]

African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms (August, 28, 2014)

Editor’s Note:  According to its website, this declaration represents “a Pan-African initiative to promote human rights standards and principles of openness in internet policy formulation and implementation on the continent,” with the intent of spelling out “the principles which are necessary to uphold human and people’s rights on the internet, and to cultivate an internet […]

Declaration of the Outraged (Declaracion de los Indignados e Indignadas)

Editor’s Note: Galvanized by social media-savvy young people fed up with the pervasive culture of political corruption in Honduras, tens of thousands of protesters have converged at the presidential palace in the capital of Tegucigalpa and are demanding an investigation into suspected massive fraud of  social security funds. The largest protests take place over weekends, but […]

Tibetan Declaration of Independence (1913)

Editor’s note:  On February 13, 1913, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama returned to Tibet from exile in India — where he’d fled four years earlier after China’s Quing (Manchu) dynasty had dispatched troops — and issued this proclamation declaring the restoration of its independence. At the time of the Dalai Lama’s return to the Himalayan region, the […]

Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire (Acta de Independencia),1821

Editor’s note: In this very brief document, drafted by Juan José Espinosa de los Monteros, secretary of the Provisional Governmental Board, the Mexican Empire declared its independence from the Spanish Empire. Where the declaration of Mexico bears no resemblance to our July 4, 1776 document, our successful struggle for liberty certainly resonated there. Though only […]

Declaration of Common Aims of the Independent Mid-European Nations (1918)

Editor’s note: A veritable declaration of independence was issued on October 26, 1918, after leaders of mid-European nations convened in for several days at Independence Hall in Philadelphia — of all places — shortly before the ending of World War I and the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Thomas Masaryk, a professor who would become […]

Irish Declaration of Independence (1919)

Editor’s note: On January 21, 1919, the Assembly of Ireland both initiated a War of Independence (“Cogadh na Saoirse” in Irish) against British forces and issued a formal declaration of independence. The guerrilla campaign ended almost 2 1/2 years later with the ceasefire in July 21, followed by the Anglo-Irish Treaty on December 6, 1921. With […]

Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans: Whales and Dolphins (2010)

Editor’s Note: This declaration, which spells out what it maintains should be the legal rights under international law of whales and dolphins, is a product of the Helsinki Group, formed, as the website issuing the document says, “out of the ‘Cetacean Rights: Fostering Moral and Legal Change Conference,’ held in Helsinki, Finland in May 2010, […]