From the Texas Declaration of Independence:
When, in consequence of such acts of malfeasance and abdication on the part of the government, anarchy prevails, and civil society is dissolved into its original elements. In such a crisis, the first law of nature, the right of self-preservation, the inherent and inalienable rights of the people to appeal to first principles, and take their political affairs into their own hands in extreme cases, enjoins it as a right towards themselves, and a sacred obligation to their posterity, to abolish such government, and create another in its stead, calculated to rescue them from impending dangers, and to secure their future welfare and happiness.
- What is the right of self preservation?
The right of self-preservation is the idea that every person has a fundamental right to protect their own life and bodily integrity—even when doing so conflicts with other rules or obligations. It’s one of the deepest concepts in political philosophy, constitutional law, and criminal law.
- What does this mean? The inherent and inalienable rights of the people to appeal to first principles, and take their political affairs into their own hands.
This sentence means that ultimate political authority rests with the people themselves—and when institutions fail, they are morally justified in acting directly based on fundamental principles of justice and legitimacy.
