conflict between these spheres ofpower the colonists believe, justifies their rebellion. The uses of the word power set the tone of the Declaration of Independence. In the first sentence of the Declaration colonists condemn the King's violation of powers given by god to all men. When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands 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 natures God Entitle them (Wills 375). In this passage the writers of the Declaration of Independence are explaining their moral claim to rebel. This right finds itsfoundation on their interpretation of the abstraction of power. Colonists perceive power as bifurcated, a force the King uses tooppress them, and a force given to them by God allowing them to rebel. In the Declaration of Independence the colonists also write about power as a negative force. In the following quote power takes on a negative meaning because power rests in the hands of the King and not the people, "to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned" (Wills 376). Power when mentioned in association with the power of the people to make their own laws has a positive connotation, "He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to Civil power" (Wills377). These two different uses of the word power transform the meaning and tone of the Declaration of Independence. The meaning changes from just a Declaration of independence from Britain because of various violations of tax laws, military expenditures, and colonists' rights; to a fundamental disagreement about power. Whether the King or civil authorities have a right to power. The colonists believe in the decentralization of power. The British support a centralized mon...
