http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_good_word/2010/11/capital_embellishment.html
While gathering the new quote for the home page, I noticed that Men is capitalized as the source of how governments derive their powers – then looked at an original image, i noticed the randomness of capitalization In the Document – which many printed texts ignore.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
I never considered that I might witness the downfall of the United States in my lifetime. Reading the Declaration of Independence drives it home, however. What a far cry from liberty we have today.
Glancing at the way you typed it, Art, it appears that almost all of the nouns are capitalized. German was popular in the colonies, especially in Pennsylvania (not that the Pennsylvania Dutch are actually Pennsylvania Deutsch (German)) and a town next to Philadelphia is “King of Prussia”. Washington’s army also fought the Hessians (Germans) across the Delaware River from Philadelphia.
Even to this day, nouns are capitalized in German.
If you read the Slate link, that’s kind of what it said – that until about 1750, nouns were capitalized mostly due to the German influence, but as the movement to standardize English started to happen, capitalization became inconsistent. Note that men occurs earlier and wasn’t capitalized. Printing presses were done with type, and a shortage of a letter or line spacing might also have influenced it.
The above was a copy/paste from the national archives site – I didn’t type it.
Language is interesting. One of the things you hear a lot of in the States is split infinitives. For example saying “We plan to put the show on” rather than “We plan to put on the show”. Brits I believe would almost always use the first grammar and Germans the second. We still have some German grammer in the states.
ops- i typed that backwards. brits would use the second, germans the first
Your preposition is dangling
I must have low tea. lol