erved to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice,
moderation, temperance, frugality and virtue, and by a frequent
recurrence to fundamental principles.

Nowhere is the break with England more clear than in the proclamation
that "all men are by nature equally free and independent". No longer were
Virginians claiming rights which were theirs as Englishmen; they now were
claiming rights which were theirs as human beings. These were natural
rights which belong to all persons everywhere and no one, either in the
past or the future could alienate, eliminate, or diminish those rights.

A second vital observation is the Declaration's firm adherence to the
doctrine of popular sovereignty--the power of the government is derived
from the people and can be exercised only with their consent or the
consent of their elected representatives.

A third observation, among many which can be made, is that for the first
time a sovereign state prevented itself and its own legislature from
infringing on the basic liberties of its peoples. The possible assault on
popular rights by an elected legislature had been made all too vivid by
parliament in the 1760's and 1770's.

Edmund Randolph said one aim of the Declaration was to erect "a perpetual
standard". John Adams had warned "we all look up to Virginia for
example". Neither Randolph nor Adams could have been disappointed.
Mason's Declaration of Rights was utilized by Jefferson as he drafted the
Declaration of Independence, written into the bills of rights of numerous
other states, and finally in 1791 was incorporated into the Federal
Constitution as the Bill of Rights.

Declaration of Independence

In Philadelphia, Lee introduced the Virginia independence resolution on
June 7, 1776. On that day only seven colonies were prepared to vote
"aye". Therefore, congress put off a full vote until July 1, hoping by
that date for all states to have received instructions from home. In the
meantime congress appointed John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman
of Connecticut, Robert R. Livingston of New York, and Thomas Jefferson to
draft a declaration. For nearly two weeks Jefferson, with the advice of
Adams and Franklin, wrote and rewrote the draft, seeking just the right
phrase, the right concept. On June 28 the committee laid its draft before
the chamber. On July 4 the Congress completed its revisions. The changes
were few when one considers the normal way legislative bodies amen