# About the 4th of July and that Declaration thingy **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 4, 2015, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-4th-of-july-and-that-declaration-thingy/724276 "2015-07-04T22:02:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2015, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-4th-of-july-and-that-declaration-thingy/724276/1 "2015-07-04T22:02:26Z")
Not too long ago, I was informed that “_the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution [of the US] were designed to work together_.” This struck me as rather odd, as they were drafted 13 years apart, so I took a look at the Declaration, a formal letter which reads like this: \*Mr. North, Mr. Hanover, et al: Since we are compelled to part ways, it seemed good manners to let you know just what the deal is. You, George, think you are something special because of your pedigree and your title. We do not see it that way at all. Every person deserves fair treatment from a properly set up and equitable government, and while people will often put up with a lot of abuse from their leaders, the time will come when they have had enough. Not only is it the right of the oppressed to throw off the oppressor, it is, for their children, their duty. So this is the crap you, have heaped on us: [ul] [li] You enact arbitrary laws or refuse to enact the laws we need[/li][li] You contrive to make it absurdly inconvenient for us to take part in the process[/li][li] You disband or constitute legislative and judicial bodies for no apparent reason and send bureaucrats to harass us[/li][li] You sent in your army, who have moved into our houses and are enforcing your silly laws – and abrogation of law – on us, so that you can rape, ravage, plunder and pilfer us and our stuff[/li][li] You force our own people to fight against us, and you have been stirring up trouble for us amongst the Indians.[/ul][/li]We keep asking, please, would you be so kind as to tone it down a tad, but nope. You just keep acting like some kind of tyrant, and quite frankly, we are fed up with it. So it is that we are now getting a divorce from you. It is only fitting, and our loyalties are henceforth to each other, not to you, you jerk. Have a nice day.​ \*(Oh, by the way, Rutledge and Floyd have found your socks.) So, I am kind of at a loss to see how the argument can be made that they were meant to “work together”. It was presented in [a short video by a scholar](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjMQJ9v6Ic4) who apparently writes for a site called americanthinker[.]com, so I am rather skeptical. The Declaration was drafted in conjunction with the Articles of Confederacy, a failed project that was later replaced by the _New! Improved!_ US Constitution. Can anyone set me straight? I mean, in a convincing, compelling way? ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-4th-of-july-and-that-declaration-thingy/724276/2 "2015-07-04T22:58:02Z")
The video is pretty clear about their connection. The Declaration of Independence cites the principles that caused America to rebel from Great Britain. The Constitution is a governing document supposedly based on those principles. The Articles of Confederation was also government based on the principles set out in the Declaration. Unfortunately it took the whole principle of not giving the federal government too much power too seriously and we ended up with a weak and unworkable government for a few years. The Constitution was attempt number two, where we created another federal government with limited powers, but this time it had enough power to effectively run the country. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2015, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-4th-of-july-and-that-declaration-thingy/724276/3 "2015-07-04T23:08:44Z")
I see a great deal in the Constitution that belies “_all men are created equal_”. The infamous three-fifths compromise, and nod to slavery in Article IV§2. Nevermind the fact that the rights described in the [del]screed[/del] Declaration were not in the ratified Constitution but in the Amendments (BoR) added shortly after its ratification. Additionally, the Preamble to the Constitution seems quite adequate to serve as a statement of purpose, there seems no need to refer back 13 years for additional support. Try harder. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-4th-of-july-and-that-declaration-thingy/724276/4 "2015-07-04T23:58:34Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Try harder. Oh, is this the thread where you challenge everyone to prove you wrong and insult them when you think they don’t? No, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-4th-of-july-and-that-declaration-thingy/724276/5 "2015-07-05T00:11:30Z")
The Declaration is the vision statement, the Constitution is the policy manual.