New Declaration of Independence
by Emma Goldman, 1896-1940, Editor/Founder in 1906 of what at the time was the radical if no anarchist Mother Earth magazine, anarchist, feminist, author, editor, and lecturer on politics, literature and the arts. Still reads fresh to us. [Published in Mother Earth, Vol. IV, no. 5, July 1909.] When, in the course of human development, […]
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 […]
Estonian Declaration of Independence, or Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia (Manifest Eestimaa rahvastele), Feb. 23, 1918
Editor’s Note: This somewhat flowery document, that makes some nods to our July 4, 1776 Declaration, was issued in the midst of World War I by a committee of the Estonian Provincial Assembly. But independence really wasn’t won by Estonia for the first time until Germany formally ceded to it political power in November 1918 — only […]
A Declaration of Liberty by the Representatives of the Slave Population of the United States of America, July 4, 1859
After the capture at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, of the white abolitionist, John Brown — who believed that only an armed uprising would rid our nation of slavery, and led the bloody raid on the federal arsenal — a set of documents was recovered at his base of operations. One of them, composed by Brown and transcribed […]
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 […]
The Greek Declaration of Independence (1822)
Editor’s note: On January 27, 1822, this proclamation of independence was issued in Epidaurus by the Greek National Assembly, declaring Greece a free and independent state. Greece had lived under the rule of the Ottoman Empire since the middle of the 15th century and the fall of the Byzantine Empire. The protracted Greek War for Independence, or […]
Declaration to Become an Independent State, Murrayfield, Mass. (June 17, 1776)
Editor’s Note: The picture of brevity, this declaration by the inhabitants of the town of Murrayfield, in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, makes clear that they cast their lot “to a man, to be declared an independent State,” whenever the Second Continental Congress deems it best to do so. Murrayfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts Declaration to Become […]
The Unanimous Declaration of Youth of the United States of America of Independence from Fossil Fuels (July 4, 2013)
Editor’s note: After watching the documentary An Inconvenient Truth as a 12-year-old, Alec Loorz took it upon himself to galvanize youth to take a leading role in curbing our dependency on fossil fuels. He started a a nonprofit environmental organization for youth, Kids vs. Global Warming, and penned a compelling declaration of independence from fossil fuels. Alec crisscrossed the country to speak […]
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 […]
