Declaration of Independence
by Thomas Jefferson et al.
Published July 4, 1776 · Added May 27, 2026 · 10 min listen
TL;DR
The Declaration of Independence is the founding document that announced and justified the separation of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain. Drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, it is roughly 1,300 words long — about ten minutes of audio.
The text is structured as a moral and political argument: it opens with universal claims about human rights, lists specific grievances against King George III, and concludes by declaring independence. The middle section reads like a legal complaint and is the part most people have never actually heard read aloud.
Want your own version?
Upload any PDF, Word doc, or paste text. Harkable returns an MP3 in under 3 minutes. 2 free per month, forever.
Related documents
Federalist No. 10 — On Factions
Federalist No. 10 is James Madison's defense of a large republic as the best protection against the dangers of factions — what we would now call political interest groups. Madison argues that you cannot remove the causes of faction without destroying liberty itself, so the only sound approach is to design institutions that control its effects.
foundationalThe US Constitution & Amendments
The United States Constitution is the supreme legal document that established the federal government, divided power among three branches, and defined the relationship between the states and the federal government. Ratified in 1788, it is one of the oldest written national constitutions still in active use anywhere in the world.
foundationalLincoln — Second Inaugural Address
Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, delivered March 4, 1865, near the end of the Civil War. Famously short and morally complex — Lincoln reflects on the war as God's judgment for slavery, and closes with "With malice toward none, with charity for all."