Faith Leaders’ Universal Declaration Against Slavery (2014)
Editor’s Note: This declaration, issued on December 2, 2014 , and signed at the Vatican by eleven leaders of many of the world’s major religions, aims to put an end to all modern manifestations of slavery, was galvanized by the Global Freedom Network. Pope Francis, in signing the document, noted that, Despite the great efforts of […]
Declaration of Independence — Commonwealth of Liberia (1847)
Editor’s Note: Liberia’s declaration, issued on July 26, 1847, is modeled after our July 4, 1776 document. It asserts that Liberia is a “free, sovereign, and independent state” and that “all men certain [have] inalienable rights; among these are life, liberty, and the right to acquire, possess, enjoy, and defend property.” Liberia distinguishes itself as the first […]
African National Congress Freedom Charter (1955)
Editor’s Note: On June 26, 1955, in Kliptown, South Africa, a ‘people’s congress,’ with several thousand attending, adopted this Charter — effectively a declaration (and it says so in the opening sentence) that calls for a non-racial democratic nation in which human rights, labor rights land reform are a centerpiece. While the ruling white South […]
Virginia Declaration of Rights (June 12, 1776)
Editor’s Note: Take a careful gander at the Virginia Declaration of Rights, crafted by American patriot George Mason and adapted by the Virginia Constitutional Convention on June 12, 1776, and you’ll see readily how deeply it influenced Jefferson’s opening paragraphs in his draft of the Declaration of Independence, not to mention our Constitution’s Bill of […]
English Bill of Rights of 1689
Editor’s Note: From grievances such ‘taxation without representation,’ having a standing army in a time of peace, and other usurpations of power by king and parliament, to enumerated rights like freedom of speech and the right to be governed only with the people’s consent, Our Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776 was clearly influenced by the English Bill of […]
Act of Sovereign Union between First Nations and Peoples in Australia (2012)
Editor’s Note: This 2012 declaration, evocative of our July 4, 1776 document, was issued by an organization called “The National Unity Government” and asserts the sovereignty of indigenous ‘first nations and peoples’ in Australia. The document is the product of a series of gatherings that first convened in 1999. Act of Sovereign Union between First Nations and […]
Declaration of Continuing Independence – First Indian International Indian Treaty Council (1974)
Editor’s Note: This declaration emerged out of a growing activist movement among Native Americans to re-establish their autonomous rights of government, their rights under existing treaties, and their continued grievances with the U.S. government and how their rights have been continually subverted. Nearly 100 indigenous tribes and Nations took part in the 1974 gathering at Standing […]
The Rebirth of the Sovereign Nation of The Republic of Texas (1995)
Editor’s note: Revolution, secession, and independence have been part of Texas’ storied history. On March 2, 1836, a declaration of independence was unanimously approved at its convention of elected delegates, and Texas made its formal break with Mexico. In 1845, after an attempt as an independent republic, Texas became part of the United States. In 1861, […]
Second Vermont Republic (2012)
Editor’s note: The mission statement of the Second Vermont Republic, “a nonviolent citizens’ network and think tank,” contains a declaration of purpose, principle, and intent, and seeks to return Vermont to its erstwhile status as an independent republic. Second Vermont Republic Mission Statement The Second Vermont Republic is a nonviolent citizens’ network and think tank committed […]
Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (1775)
Editor’s note: Thomas Jefferson took his first stab at bona fide ‘Declaration creation’ with this document. Issued on July 6, 1775 by the Second Continental Congress, this declaration presaged in some ways the Declaration that the same Congress would proclaim on July 4, 1776. Credit for this declaration’s more temperate final version is given to John Dickenson, […]
