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 entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of self determination requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all beings are equal with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -- to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among people, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson