When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
Seeing the sentence diagram can help you understand the meaning of the sentence, but beware! The diagram can be pretty overwhelming at first.
Here's a color-coded diagram. This is my attempt to simplify it and help you see the main parts of the sentence. You'll also find a key chart below that will help you identify the parts of the sentence.
| a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes | independent clause |
| respect | subject of independent clause |
| requires | verb of independent clause (transitive active) |
| that they should declare the causes | noun clause - direct object of requires |
| which impel them to the separation | dependent adjective clause - modifying causes |
| When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary . . . Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them | dependent adverb clause modifying requires from independent clause |
| it | subject of dependent adverb clause |
| to dissolve the political bands . . . and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station | compound infinitive phrase - noun appositive renaming it |
| becomes | verb of adverb clause (intransitive linking) |
| necessary | predicate adjective of adverb clause |
| which have connected them with another | dependent adjective clause modifying bands |
| to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them | dependent adjective clause modifying station |
There you have it! I hope this lesson helped you understand the Declaration of Independence a little bit better.
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