Self-Evident Truths

Declaration of Independence — Declaration of Independence

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.

Adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence announced the American colonies' separation from Britain. This line, drafted principally by Thomas Jefferson, is its most quoted sentence — the philosophical foundation the rest of the document argues from.