This may seem like a super obvious motif…but it's a pretty important one. Scratch that: it's the most important one. The Declaration of Independence isn't just about breaking away from a particular government, it's also about the purpose of government and what it means to have one.

Here are the main ideas Jefferson presents:

• Government was created to protect the rights of the people.
• Government was created by the will of the people, and they have the right to change it if the system is not doing its job.
• In fact, if a government becomes abusive, the people must overthrow it.
• Tyranny is bad news bears.

Each of these is stated pretty explicitly. For example: "to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed" (3).

Or, just as blatant: "when a long train of abuses and usurpations…design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government" (6).

Not enough? How about, "A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people" (39).

These are some of the most pointed remarks Jefferson makes about—you guessed it—government. Of course, there's always his checklist of abuses illustrating the heinous acts of King George III, which sheds light on what Jefferson thinks is a good government by showing us what he thinks is a bad government. The list is all about governmental actions, ranging from dissolving legislatures to quartering troops.

No symbols or metaphors here… just straightforward complaints.

There is a less direct way that the motif of government plays into the text. Jefferson's assertion that "all men are created equal" (2) leads into the idea that government is meant to protect human rights. There is a larger philosophy here about the actual nature of government, which gives much more power and control to the people than ever existed in the monarchies of Europe. Government is accountable to the people, because every person's worthy of having their rights protected.

You tell 'em, T.J.