What phrase begins the United States Declaration of Independence?
Answer
When in the Course of human events
The United States Declaration of Independence begins with the phrase “When in the Course of human events.”
This opening introduces the document’s explanation of why a people may separate from another political power. The sentence continues by saying that it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands connecting them to another. The formal language frames independence as a matter requiring public explanation.
Thomas Jefferson drafted most of the Declaration, working with the Committee of Five appointed by Congress. The committee included Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. Congress edited the draft before adopting it on July 4, 1776.
The opening is often confused with famous phrases from other American documents. “We the People” begins the U.S. Constitution, while “Four score and seven years ago” begins Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. The Declaration’s first words belong to the revolutionary era and its argument for political separation.