A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state. Not all declarations of independence are successful and result in independence for these regions.^{[citation needed]}

Such declarations are typically made without the consent of the parent state, and hence are sometimes called unilateral declarations of independence (UDIs), particularly by those who question the declarations' validity.^{[citation needed]}

Max McLean is an American actor and narrator for audio books. He is the President of Fellowship for the Performing Arts, narrator for the Listener's Bible audio line, and speaker on the daily radio program Listen to the Bible which airs on over 670 radio affiliates worldwide.

McLean is best known for his theatrical presentations of The Screwtape Letters, Mark's Gospel, and Genesis.

Born in Panama City, Panama on April 14, 1953, McLean immigrated to the United States when he was four. He married his wife Sharon in 1976.

He has appeared in several off Broadway theater productions in New York, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland, Pegasus Theater in Chicago, Illinois; the Dallas Theater Center in Dallas, Texas; the Stratford Festival Theater, as well as dozens of colleges and performing arts venues across the country. Currently, he is the star of the National Tour of The Screwtape Letters, which has been described as "Humorous and lively...the Devil has rarely been given his due more perceptively!" by The New York Times, "A profound experience" by Christianity Today and "Wickedly witty...One hell of good show!" by The Wall Street Journal.The Screwtape Letters played for 309 performances at New York City’s Westside Theatre in 2010. Prior to that, the production had successful runs in Chicago and Washington, D.C. The 2011 tour visited performing arts venues in cities throughout the United States including Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Seattle, Minneapolis, and Boston. The 2012-2013 tour began in Los Angeles in January 2012, and includes return engagements in San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Chicago and Atlanta as well as stops in several other cities.

John Adams (October 30, 1735 (O.S. October 19, 1735)  – July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Father, and the second President of the United States (1797–1801). He was also a lawyer, statesman, diplomat, political theorist, and a leading champion of independence in 1776. Hailing from New England, Adams, a prominent lawyer and public figure in Boston, was highly educated and represented Enlightenment values promoting republicanism. A Federalist, he was highly influential and one of the key Founding Fathers of the United States.

Adams came to prominence in the early stages of the American Revolution. As a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress, he played a leading role in persuading Congress to declare independence and assisted Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence. As a diplomat in Europe, he was a major negotiator of the eventual peace treaty with Great Britain, and chiefly responsible for obtaining important loans from Amsterdam bankers. A political theorist and historian, Adams largely wrote the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780 which soon after ended slavery in Massachusetts, but was in Europe when the federal Constitution was drafted on similar principles later in the decade. One of his greatest roles was as a judge of character: in 1775, he nominated George Washington to be commander-in-chief, and 25 years later nominated John Marshall to be Chief Justice of the United States.