What Are the Sections of the Declaration of Independence?
The Declaration of Independence consists of the introduction, the preamble, the body and the conclusion. Some scholars consider the introduction and the preamble to be a single section, and some divide the body into two parts.
The first section of the Declaration of Independence is the introduction, which first presents the desire of the 13 colonies to remove themselves from the British Empire.
The second section (or the second paragraph of the first section) is the preamble. It establishes the principles by which the colonies consider themselves justified in severing ties to the British Empire.
The third section begins the body of the document. It expresses the colonies’ specific grievances with the British monarch King George III.
The fourth section is the second part of the body, and it presents the colonies’ case that they have tried in vain to remedy the grievances peacefully.
The fifth and final section of the Declaration of Independence is the conclusion. It summarizes the argument and formalizes the colonies’ desire to leave the British Empire and to dissolve any political connection between the two.
