WHEN in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary to decide that a government that purports to represent the union of states has failed to do so; that the unalienable rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness have been trampled upon by that government; and that the rule of law and the Constitution have been systematically violated, then whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.