Metaphor in the Declaration of Independence of the United States . M.A Thesis Linguistics: 60 22 15

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ THANH BÌNH METAPHOR IN THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE OF THE UNITED STATES (Ẩn dụ Tuyên ngôn độc lập Mỹ) M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Linguistics Code: 60.22.15 Supervisor: Nguyễn Hương Giang M.A HANOI, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of contents vii INTRODUCTION Rationale Aims of the study Scope of the study Methods of the study Design of the study DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: An overview on Metaphor 1.1 Definitions of Metaphor 1.2 Components of Metaphor 1.3 Classification of conceptual metaphor 1.3.1 Ontological metaphor 1.3.1.1 Container metaphor 1.3.1.2 Substance metaphor 10 1.3.1.3 Entity metaphor 10 1.3.2 Orientiational metaphor 11 1.3.3 Structural metaphor 13 1.4 Functions of Metaphor 15 1.4.1 Metaphor is used to create image 15 iv 1.4.2 Stylistic hypothesis: Metaphor has the functions of decorating 17 1.4.3 Cognitive hypothesis: Metaphor has the function of enabling cognition 17 CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY 2.1 Research questions 19 2.2 Data collection 19 2.3 Analytical framework 19 2.4 Data analysis and discussion 20 2.4.1 Ontological metaphor 22 2.4.2 Structural metaphor 34 2.4.3 Orientational metaphor 34 CONCLUSION Major findings 37 Implications 38 Suggestions for further studies 39 REFERENCES 40 APPENDIX ix v ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE THESIS Sub.Met: Substance metaphor Ent.Met: Entity metaphor Con.Met: Container metaphor Per.Met: As person metaphor Obj.Met: As object metaphor Ort.Met: Orientational metaphor Str.Met: Structural metaphor LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS Table 1: Conceptual metaphors in the Declaration of Independence Table 2: Ontological metaphors in the Declaration of Independence Chart 1: The percentage of conceptual metaphor in the Declaration of Independence INTRODUCTION Rationale Metaphor is one of the most complex and powerful tools of language and hence gets a section all to itself It is widely used in different types of text like literature, science, journals, advertisement, religion, politics or everyday language The use of metaphor as a part of figurative language aims to help the listeners to visualize what is meant by a phrase or expression It is seen everyday and every time by almost everybody In fact, politicians use language to persuade people that their thoughts, aims and ideas are equitable and to make their point clear and vivid to the people It is proved that the use of metaphor is one of the most prominent tools for persuasion and an effective instrument for propaganda in political language Commenting on the important role of metaphor, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (1980:3) state that ―metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action‖ The Declaration of Independence is delivered to announce independence and sovereignty of any countries to not only their citizens but also other countries in all over the world Therefore, its author has to use rhetorical strategies to convince people and metaphor is one of the rhetorical strategies which are found to be commonly used Thus, I would like to conduct a study on the use of metaphor in the Declaration of Independence of the United States to find out what types of metaphor are commonly used and how effective they are Aims of the study This study was conducted to fulfil the following aims:  To provide knowledge about conceptual metaphor from Lakoff and Johnson‘s perspective  To investigate the use of conceptual metaphor in the Declaration of Independence of the United States  To give suggestion on some teaching and learning activities to gain more understanding about metaphor These aims of the study were achieved via the following research questions:  What is conceptual metaphor?  How many types of conceptual metaphor are there?  What types of conceptual metaphor are used in The Declaration of Independence of the United States? Scope of the study This study attempts to look at theories of metaphor Cognitive theory about metaphor developed by Lakoff and Johnson will be presented in details in terms of definition, components, classification and functions Then, the Declaration of Independence of the USA is analysed using Lakoff and Johnson‘s theory to figure out typical conceptual metaphors in this writing Methods of the study The study is carried out mainly based on the combination of both descriptive and explanatory methods These two methods were used to collect data different books and other sources available, describe the collected information and analyze the Declaration of Independence of the USA The study was conducted as follows: Firstly, data was collected from different books, websites about metaphor in English Secondly, the collected information was synthesized and categorized Finally, the Declaration of Independence was analyzed in terms of metaphor Design of the study The study consists of main parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion The Introduction presents the rationale, aims, scope, methods and design of the study The Development is divided into chapters Chapter deals with theoretical background of the study including different theories of metaphor Chapter accounts for the study of conceptual metaphors used in Declaration of Independence of America The Conclusion focuses on major findings, implications and suggestions for further studies DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: AN OVERVIEW OF METAPHOR 1.1 Definitions Metaphor, one of the most important and widespread figures of speech, has been given a lot of definitions Historically, the word ―metaphor‖ is originated from the Greek word ―metapherin‖ which means ―to carry something across‖ or ―to transfer‖, is normally used to refer to the method of comparing two different items based on resemblance or similarity Form Aristotle‘s point of view, metaphor is based on ―seeing resemblances‖ in things According to Aristotle, metaphor is defined as a ―transfer of a name belonging elsewhere‖ (cited in Lessengberg, 2001:33) However, his definition of metaphor is merely at the level of words and later authors make more extensive study about the nature of metaphor In ―A handbook to Literature‖ by Harmon and Homan (ed, 1996:315), metaphor is defined as ―an analogy identifying one object with another and ascribing to the first object one or more of the qualities of the second‖ In this definition, metaphor is seen as the process of expressing one thing through another thing due to the similarities of two objects Sharing the same view, a definition offered by Cambridge Advanced Learner‘s Dictionary considers metaphor as ―an expression which describes a person or object in a literary way by referring to something that is considered to possess similar characteristics to the person or object you are trying to describe‖ Two authors who are largely well-known for their study of metaphor are Lakoff and Johnson with their book ―Metaphor We live by‖ In this book, metaphor is defined as a process by which we conceive ―one thing in terms of another, and its primary function is understanding‖ (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980:36) These authors consider metaphor as the interaction between a source domain and a target domain in the conceptual process rather than the interaction between two words only Thus, metaphor from the perspective of Lakoff and Johnson also called conceptual metaphor Obviously, these definitions meet one another at a point that they all regard metaphor as the description or conception of one object in terms of another due to some of their similar qualities Besides, metaphor is not only a common device used in language but also an important process concerning human‘s cognition about the world 1.2 Components of metaphor According to I.A Richards (1936), metaphor consists of two main parts: tenor and vehicle which are relatively called target and source by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) Tenor is the thing that the metaphoric word or phrase refers to whereas vehicle is the metaphoric word or phrase In ―A Handbook to Literature‖ by Harmon and Homan (eds, 1996: 315), it is said that ―the tenor and vehicle taken together constitute the figure, trope, or ―turn‖ in meaning that the metaphor conveys At one extreme, the vehicle may be merely a means of decorating the tenor, at the other extreme, the tenor may be merely an excuse for having the vehicle.‖ Thus, between them always exists a close relation and similarity that may be very obvious or only in the mind of the metaphor maker For example: “Mary is a blooming rose” Mary is a blooming rose In this metaphor, ―Mary‖ is the tenor and ―a blooming rose‖ is the vehicle It can be seen in this example that there must be certain similar features between ―Mary‖ and ―a blooming rose‖ The maker of the metaphor implies that the beauty and vitality of Mary can be described as a blooming rose in the spring APPENDIX Container metaphors in the Declaration of Independence in the United States IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America When in the Course (Con.Met)1 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 and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal , that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, 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 (Con.Met)2 its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed But when a long train of abuses and usurpations , pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government The history XVI of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world He has refused his Assent to Laws , the most wholesome and necessary for the public good He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature (Con.Met)3, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States ; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions) of new Appropriations of Lands XVII He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance He has kept among us, in times of peace (Con.Met)4, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us : For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States: For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury : For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences: For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province (Con Met)5, establishing there in an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to XVIII render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages (Con.Met)6, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants (Con.Met)7 of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions In every stage of these Oppressions (Con.Met)8 We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms (Con.Met)9: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people XIX Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War (Con.Met)10, in Peace (Con.Met)11 Friends We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress (Con.Met)12, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name (Con.Met)13, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States , that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power (Con.Met)14 to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor XX APPENDIX Orientational metaphors in the Declaration of Independence in the United States IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America 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 and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, 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 (Ori.Met) or to abolish (Ori.Met) it, and to institute new (Ori.Met) 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 Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established (Ori.Met) should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce (Ori.Met) them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off (Ori.Met) such Government, and to provide (Ori.met) new Guards for their future security — Such has XXI been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage XXII their migrations hither, and raising (Ori.Met) the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers He has made (Ori.Met) Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries He has erected (Ori.Met) a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States: For cutting off (Ori.Met) our Trade with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences: XXIII For abolishing (Ori.Met) the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies For taking away (Ori.Met) our Charters, abolishing (Ori.Met) our most valuable Laws and altering (Ori.Met) fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: For suspending (Ori.Met) our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people (Ori.Met) He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury A XXIV Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor XXV APPENDIX Structural metaphors in the Declaration of Independence in the United States IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected (Str.Met) them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation (Str.Met) We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, 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 Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes (Str.Met); and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed (Str.Met) But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is XXVI now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands XXVII He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States: For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences: For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render XXVIII it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people XXIX Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor XXX