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 do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. 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.
JOHN HANCOCK.
| new hampshire. | new jersey. | virginia. | ||
| Josiah Bartlett, | Richard Stockton, | George Wythe, | ||
| William Whipple, | John Witherspoon, | Richard Henry Lee, | ||
| Matthew Thornton, | Francis Hopkinson, | Thomas Jefferson, | ||
| John Hart, | Benjamin Harrison, | |||
| massachusetts bay. | Abraham Clark. | Thomas Nelson, Jr., | ||
| Samuel Adams, | Francis Lightfoot Lee, | |||
| John Adams, | pennsylvania. | Carter Braxton. | ||
| Robert Treat Paine, | Robert Morris, | |||
| Elbridge Gerry. | Benjamin Rush, | north carolina. | ||
| Benjamin Franklin, | William Hooper, | |||
| rhode island, &c. | John Morton, | Joseph Hewes, | ||
| Stephen Hopkins, | George Clymer, | John Penn. | ||
| William Ellery. | James Smith, | |||
| George Taylor, | south carolina. | |||
| connecticut. | James Wilson, | Edward Rutledge, | ||
| Roger Sherman, | George Ross. | Thomas Heyward, Jr., | ||
| Samuel Huntingdon, | Thomas Lynch, Jr., | |||
| William Williams, | delaware. | Arthur Middleton. | ||
| Oliver Wolcott. | Cesar Rodney, | |||
| George Read, | georgia. | |||
| new york. | Thomas M'Kean. | Button Gwinnett, | ||
| William Floyd, | Lyman Hall, | |||
| Philip Livingston, | maryland. | George Walton. | ||
| Francis Lewis, | Samuel Chase, | |||
| Lewis Morris. | William Paca, | |||
| Thomas Stone, | ||||
| C. Carroll, of Carrollton. |
POLITICAL RIGHTS AND SOVEREIGNTY.
Respecting the political rights and sovereignty of the several colonies, and of the union which was thus spontaneously formed by the people of the United Colonies, by the declaration of independence, Judge Story, in his Commentaries on the Constitution, remarks:—
In the first place, antecedent to the declaration of independence, none of the colonies were, or pretended to be, sovereign states, in the sense in which the term "sovereign" is sometimes applied to the states. The term "sovereign," or "sovereignty," is used in different senses, which often leads to a confusion of ideas, and sometimes to very mischievous and unfounded conclusions. By "sovereignty," in its largest sense, is meant supreme, absolute, uncontrollable power, the jus summi imperii, the absolute right to govern. A state or nation is a body politic, or society of men, united together for the purpose of promoting their mutual safety and advantage by their combined strength. By the very act of
