When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. Since 1776, the principles embodied in the Declaration of Independence have been proclaimed throughout the world. USA reformers, whatever their motives—whether to abolish slavery, ban segregation, or advance women's rights—have appealed to the public by invoking the truth that “all men are created equal.” Wherever people struggle against undemocratic rule, they have invoked Jefferson's words to argue that a government's “legitimate authority is derived from the consent of the governed.” The Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, 1776, proclaimed the independence of the United States. It states: 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.