In 1776, leaders in America wrote the Declaration of Independence. They wanted a new country where people chose their own leaders.

1776年，美國的領導者撰寫了《獨立宣言》。他們希望建立一個由人民選擇自己領導者的新國家。

Thomas Jefferson wrote the document. He worked with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. They used ideas about natural rights. They wanted the new country to be based on reason.

湯瑪斯·傑佛森撰寫了這份文件。他與本傑明·富蘭克林及約翰·亞當斯共同合作。他們運用了關於自然權利的觀念。他們希望新國家能建立在理性的基礎上。

Other writers helped too. Thomas Paine wrote a book called Common Sense. It made many people want to fight for freedom. Many people in the colonies already voted in local elections.

其他作者也提供了幫助。湯瑪斯·潘恩寫了一本名為《常識》的書。這本書讓許多人想要為自由而戰。當時殖民地的許多人已經在地方選舉中投票了。

But the document had problems. It said all men are equal, but it did not include women or Black people. Many leaders owned slaves. Later, people used these words to fight for real rights for everyone.

但這份文件存在問題。文中提到所有男人都是平等的，但並未將女性或黑人納入其中。許多領導者當時擁有奴隸。後來，人們利用這些文字來爭取每個人的真正權利。

Today, the USA still works to make sure all people have the same rights.

時至今日，美國仍致力於確保所有人擁有相同的權利。

The 1776 Declaration of Independence was created by combining Enlightenment philosophy with the way the colonies were already being managed. This established a foundation for a new independent state based on the consent of the people.

1776年的獨立宣言將啟蒙哲學與當時殖民地的管理方式相結合。這為一個基於人民同意的新獨立國家奠定了基礎。

The Declaration was developed by a committee that included Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams. Adams chose Jefferson as the main writer to ensure that the interests of Virginia were represented, which helped unite the northern and southern colonies. Jefferson used John Locke's theories on natural rights and the Virginia Declaration of Rights to write the document. Furthermore, Benjamin Franklin suggested changing the word 'sacred' to 'self-evident.' This change shifted the focus from religious beliefs to logical reasoning, grounding the nation's legitimacy in reason.

這份宣言是由一個委員會起草的，成員包括班傑明·富蘭克林、湯瑪斯·傑佛遜與約翰·亞當斯。亞當斯選擇傑佛遜作為主筆，以確保維吉尼亞州的利益得到代表，這有助於統一北部與南部的殖民地。傑佛遜運用約翰·洛克關於自然權利的理論以及《維吉尼亞權利宣言》來撰寫該文件。此外，班傑明·富蘭克林建議將「神聖」一詞改為「顯而易見」。這一改變將焦點從宗教信仰轉向邏輯推理，將國家的合法性建立在理性之上。

At the same time, the ideas of Thomas Paine and John Adams strengthened the revolution. Paine's pamphlet 'Common Sense' encouraged public support, while Adams's 'Thoughts on Government' provided a practical plan for state constitutions that limited the power of the leader. Adams emphasized that the colonies had already acted as independent democracies because Britain had largely ignored them for years. Consequently, a larger percentage of men in the colonies could vote compared to men in England, which proved that authority should belong to the citizens.

與此同時，湯瑪斯·潘恩與約翰·亞當斯的思想強化了革命。潘恩的小冊子《常識》鼓勵了公眾支持，而亞當斯的《政府思考》則為州憲法提供了一個實際方案，用以限制領導者的權力。亞當斯強調，由於英國多年來基本上忽略了他們，殖民地實際上已如同獨立民主政體般運作。因此，與英格蘭相比，殖民地有更高比例的男性擁有投票權，證明了權力應屬於公民。

However, despite the language of equality, these principles did not apply to everyone. At first, 'all men' only referred to white male property owners, meaning women, enslaved people, and indigenous groups were excluded. This contradiction is clear because Jefferson's original section against slavery was removed, and many of the signers owned slaves. Nevertheless, these written ideals created a standard that later civil rights and abolition movements used to fight for equality over the next 250 years.

然而，儘管文字上強調平等，但這些原則並不適用於每個人。起初，「所有男人」僅指白人男性業主，意味著女性、奴隸及原住民被排除在外。這種矛盾十分明顯，因為傑佛遜原稿中反對奴隸制度的段落被刪除，且許多簽署者本身就擁有奴隸。儘管如此，這些書面理想創造了一個標準，使後續250年的民權與廢奴運動能據此爭取平等。

The modern American republic is defined by the continuing effort to make its society match the inclusive and equal ideals first described in 1776.

現代美國共和國的定義，在於持續努力使社會符合1776年最初描述的包容與平等理想。

The 1776 Declaration of Independence emerged from a synthesis of Enlightenment philosophy and existing colonial administrative practices, establishing a framework for a sovereign state based on popular consent.

1776年的獨立宣言源於啟蒙哲學與當時殖民地行政實務的綜合，建立了一個基於人民同意的主權國家框架。

The conceptualization of the Declaration was facilitated by a committee comprising Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and other delegates. The selection of Jefferson as the primary author was a strategic decision by Adams to ensure the inclusion of Virginian interests, thereby fostering a necessary rapprochement between the northern and southern colonies. Jefferson's drafting process involved the integration of John Locke's theories on natural rights and the recently formulated Virginia Declaration of Rights. The transition from the term 'sacred' to 'self-evident'—attributed to Franklin—signaled a shift toward an analytic philosophical framework, specifically echoing David Hume's distinction between synthetic and analytic truths, thereby grounding the nation's legitimacy in reason rather than theology.

獨立宣言的構思是由班傑明·富蘭克林、湯瑪斯·傑佛遜、約翰·亞當斯及其他代表組成的委員會促成。亞當斯選擇傑佛遜作為主筆是一個戰略決定，旨在確保維吉尼亞州的利益被納入，從而促進北部與南部殖民地之間必要的和解。傑佛遜的起草過程整合了約翰·洛克關於自然權利的理論以及近期制定的《維吉尼亞權利宣言》。將詞彙從「神聖」改為「顯而易見」——據屬於富蘭克林的建議——標誌著向分析哲學框架的轉移，特別是呼應了大衛·休姆對綜合真理與分析真理的區分，從而將國家的合法性建立在理性而非神學之上。

Parallel to the drafting of the Declaration, the intellectual infrastructure of the revolution was reinforced by the works of Thomas Paine and John Adams. Paine's 'Common Sense' provided a catalyst for public sentiment, while Adams's 'Thoughts on Government' offered a pragmatic template for state constitutions that limited executive power and prioritized elected assemblies. Adams posited that the colonies had already functioned as autonomous democratic entities due to the British policy of 'salutary neglect,' noting that a significantly higher percentage of the colonial male population possessed the franchise compared to their counterparts in England. This existing tradition of self-governance provided the empirical basis for the claim that authority resides with the citizenry.

與起草宣言平行，革命的知識基礎由湯瑪斯·潘恩與約翰·亞當斯的作品予以強化。潘恩的《常識》為公眾情緒提供了催化劑，而亞當斯的《政府思考》則為州憲法提供了一個務實模板，限制行政權力並優先考慮民選議會。亞當斯認為，由於英國採取「有益的忽視」政策，殖民地當時已作為自治的民主實體在運作；他指出，與英國的對應人群相比，殖民地男性人口擁有投票權的比例顯著較高。這種既有的自治傳統，為「權力在於公民」的主張提供了經驗基礎。

Despite the egalitarian rhetoric, the application of these principles was characterized by significant systemic exclusions. The initial conceptualization of 'all men' was restricted to white male property owners, intentionally omitting women, enslaved persons, and indigenous populations. This paradox is evidenced by the removal of Jefferson's anti-slavery passage from the final document and the fact that a majority of the signers were slaveholders. However, the institutionalization of these ideals created a theoretical baseline that subsequent movements for civil rights and abolition utilized to challenge these contradictions over the ensuing two and a half centuries.

儘管有平等主義的措辭，但這些原則的應用卻具有顯著的系統性排除。最初對「所有人」的構想被限制在白人男性財產所有者，刻意忽略了女性、被奴役者及原住民。這一悖論體現在最終文件中刪除了傑佛遜反對奴隸制度的段落，以及大多數簽署人均為奴隸主的事實。然而，這些理想的制度化創造了一個理論基準，使得隨後兩個半世紀的民權運動與廢奴運動得以利用其來挑戰這些矛盾。

The current state of the American republic is defined by the ongoing effort to align its societal practices with the inclusive egalitarian ideals first articulated in 1776.

當前美國共和國的狀態，定義於不斷努力將其社會實踐與1776年首次闡述的包容性平等理想相對齊的過程中。