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What are the three main parts of the Declaration of Independence?

The first part of the Declaration of Independence is probably the most famous and certainly the most often-quoted. It might be called a "statement of purpose," because in it Jefferson and the signers declared the reason for the document, which was to explain their justifications for declaring independence from Great Britain. However, it also included the statement of the unalienable rights of men, which included "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and a brief explanation of the social contract theory upon which the Declaration was based. Essentially, the Declaration states that the purpose of government is to preserve the fundamental rights of man, and that when governments fail to protect these rights, the people have the right to overthrow them.


The second part of the Declaration is a long list of grievances against King George. These grievances range from the King's refusal to approve beneficial laws passed by colonial legislatures  to his attempts to incite "merciless Indian savages" to attack the colonists during the preceding year. Each of these accusations was intended to show that the King violated the social contract described in the first part, and that the colonies thus had the right to declare independence.


Finally, the third part is an actual declaration of independence. The signers and the people they represented declared that all political connections between themselves and Great Britain were "dissolved," and that the colonies were now "independent states." 

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