When in the course of Human Events ...
it becomes necessary to find out what "stuff" means;
and then to claim those 'intended meanings' as our individual Birth-rights ...
The Final Text of the Declaration of Independence, July 4 1776
let.rug.nl
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. [...]
consent of the governed definition -- dictionary.reference.com
A condition urged by many as a requirement for legitimate government: that the authority of a government should depend on the consent of the people, as expressed by votes in elections.
unalienable -- vocabulary.com
What's unalienable cannot be taken away or denied. Its most famous use is in the Declaration of Independence, which says people have unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
To find the origins of the word unalienable, we can look at the root, alien, which comes from the Latin alienus, meaning "of or belonging to another." This provides the basis for our word, with the prefix un- providing the turnaround "not," and the suffix -able providing the idea of capability. Therefore, we get “not able to be denied.” Oh, and if you are wondering about the common argument as to whether it is "unalienable" or "inalienable," either is correct.
merriam-webster.com
self–evident
adjective self–ev·i·dent -dənt, -ˌdent\
: clearly true and requiring no proof or explanation.
All Men are Created Equal
loc.gov
The concept that all men are created equal was a key to European Enlightenment philosophy. But the interpretation of "all men" has hovered over the Declaration of Independence since its creation. Although most people have interpreted "all men" to mean humanity, others have argued that Jefferson and the other authors of the Declaration meant to exclude women and children. Within the context of the times it is clear that "all men" was a euphemism for "humanity," and thus those people, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King, who used the Declaration of Independence to demand equality for African Americans and women seized the historical as well as the moral high ground.
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness
The Claremont Institute, founding.com
The Declaration specifically mentions three rights which human beings possess by birth or by nature -- life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. No one may rightfully deny us these things. Nor, since they are "unalienable," may we rightfully surrender them.
[...]
The Declaration says that these three rights are "among" our natural rights. We have others in addition. Among the most important of these are the rights of conscience and property. These are among the rights specifically guaranteed in the Constitution's first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights.
[...]
Origins of the "Pursuit of Happiness"
by Josh Clark, howstuffworks.com
[...]
It's more likely that Jefferson took the phrase from [John] Locke, argues literary scholar Carol Hamilton, since Jefferson would likely have disdained Johnson's Tory leanings. In 1690, Locke wrote, "The necessity of pursuing happiness is the foundation of liberty" [source: Hamilton]. In the essay, Locke also uses the exact phrase "pursuit of happiness."
Why did Jefferson change "property" to the "pursuit of happiness"?
by Carol V. Hamilton, historynewsnetwork.org
[...] in the 1690 essay Concerning Human Understanding. There, in a long and thorny passage, Locke wrote:
The necessity of pursuing happiness [is] the foundation of liberty. As therefore the highest perfection of intellectual nature lies in a careful and constant pursuit of true and solid happiness; so the care of ourselves, that we mistake not imaginary for real happiness, is the necessary foundation of our liberty. [...]
Endowed by Their Creator?
by Robert Hunt, patheos.com -- April 23, 2012
[...]
In the constitution it is “We the People” who both bring the nation into existence and fix its laws, not “the Creator.” God may have endowed all humans with inalienable rights, but our rights as US citizens are granted and protected by ourselves as the custodians of the nation, and by our elected representatives.
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
[...]
We the People ... do that.