|
|
Jefferson's Preamble to the Virginia Constitution
June 29, 1776 WHEREAS George the third, king of Great Britain and Ireland, and elector of Hanover, heretofore intrusted with the exercise of the kingly office in this government, hath endeavoured to pervert the same into a detestable and insupportable tyranny, By putting his negative on laws the most wholesome
and necessary for the publick good: By denying his governours permission to pass
laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation
for his assent, and, when so suspended, neglecting to attend to them for
many years: By refusing to pass certain other laws, unless
the persons to be benefitted by them would relinquish the inestimable right
of representation in the legislature: By dissolving legislative Assemblies repeatedly
and continually, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions of the
rights of the people: When dissolved, by refusing to call others
for a long space of time, thereby leaving the political system without
any legislative head: By endeavoring to prevent the population of
our country, and, for that purpose, obstructing the laws for the naturalization
of foreigners: By keeping among us, in times of peace, standing
armies and ships of war: By affecting to render the military independent
of, and superiour to, the civil power: By combining with others to subject us to
a foreign jurisdiction, giving his assent to their pretended acts of legislation: For quartering large bodies of armed troops
among us: For cutting off our trade with all parts of
the world: For imposing taxes on us without our consent: For depriving us of the benefits of trial
by jury: For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried
for pretended offences: For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring
themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever: By plundering our seas, ravaging our coasts,
burning our towns, and destroying the lives of our people: By inciting insurrections of our fellow subjects,
with the allurements of forfeiture and confiscation: By prompting our negroes to rise in arms among
us, those very negroes whom, by an inhuman use of his negative, he hath
refused us permission to exclude by law: By endeavoring 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
of existence: By transporting, at this time, a large army
of foreign mercenaries, to complete the works of death, desolation, and
tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy unworthy
the head of a civilized nation: By answering our repeated petitions for redress
with a repetition of injuries: And finally, by abandoning the helm of government,
and declaring us out of his allegiance and protection. By which several acts of misrule, the government
of this country, as formerly exercised under the crown of Great Britain,
IS TOTALLY DISSOLVED. For correspondence: P.O. Box 1310 • Herndon, VA 20172-1310 df@declarationfoundation.com © 2008, Declaration Foundation • ® All rights reserved. |