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. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new
government...

1. What do you think the philosophy behind these words was?
2. Specifically, what did the colonists mean by "We hold these truths to be self-evident"?
3. Why did the colonists believe that "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" were "unalienable rights"?
4. Why was the phrase "governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed" a
novel concept in the 1700s?