What does the Declaration of Independence say?

The Declaration begins by describing the purpose of government. It argues that all men have basic rights, and that the purpose of government is to protect these rights--"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." It further says that if governments, which are established by men, fail to uphold these rights, then it is the right of the people to "alter or abolish" those governments. It then proceeds to list a series of grievances against the King, who is made to stand for all of Great Britain. It accuses him of taxing the colonies without their consent, of raising slaves and Native Americans up to fight against the colonists, of dissolving assemblies and failing to approve laws that would be good for the colonists, among many other accusations. Because the king had violated their rights in these ways, the colonies assert that they will, through the delegates chosen to attend the Continental Congress, declare their independence from Britain, and that the Declaration is their formal announcement of this action to the world. So, very briefly, it is an assertion of rights, a statement of the foundations of government, a list of the ways in which the king had violated their rights, and a formal declaration of independence.