The Declaration of Independence

Some 23 other countries have used our Declaration of Independence as inspiration or directly copied sections straight from it. It has been used by the oppressed over the last 238 years as a symbol of their respective struggles. The words of Jefferson are often recited and paraphrased but point back to the original meaning that all men and mankind are created equal. To paraphrase what Dr. Martin Luther King said to an intimate gathering almost 51 years ago, "Let freedom ring"