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Editing primary source
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Description
The document declaring the thirteen American colonies independent from Great Britain, adopted July 4, 1776. Its preamble's claim that all men are created equal became the most quoted and contested passage in American civic life.
Excerpt
"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, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Significance
The origin point — the founding promise every later generation would claim, challenge, and reinterpret.
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