Are the self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence first principles of politics?
In the second paragraph Of the Declaration, we read: 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 of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. It is interesting to observe that, although the Declaration of Independence preceded The Federalist by eleven years, Hamilton does not refer to the truths that Jefferson had called self-evident in order to exemplify the first principles of politics. The reason may be that Hamilton did no
