Basement Whatever

The Declaration of Independence was:

the first successful declaration of independence in world history, [and] its example helped to inspire countless movements for independence

The founders wrote the Declaration as a long argument, establish their rationale for forming a country. First, they listed principles that they recognized as self-evident, which they used as a framework for making their claims. Then they listed grievances against the king as their justification for independence. This was astonishingly dangerous. In fact, they had to declare independence, because:

if they organized themselves into political bodies with which other powers could engage, then they might become legitimate belligerents in an international conflict rather than treasonous combatants within a British civil war.

The odds of winning were stacked against them.

no people had managed to secede from an empire since the United Provinces had revolted from Spain almost two centuries before, and no overseas colony had done so in modern times.

By declaring independence, the writers set off a chain of unprecedented events leading to the present day:

More than half of the 192 countries now represented at the United Nations have a founding document that can be called a declaration of independence. 

The entire article is excellent and strongly recommended.