United States Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence is the statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1. American colonies,[2] then at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain, regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, and no longer under British rule. Declaration of Independence [Adopted in Congress 4 July 1776] The Original Version of this Text was Rendered into HTML by Jon Roland of the Constitution Society. A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood is an assertion by a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. The Declaration of Independence is our nation's most cherished symbol of liberty. See it at the National Archives: http:// Drafted by Thomas Jefferson. Instead they formed a new nation—the United States of America. John Adams was a leader in pushing for independence, which was unanimously approved on July 2. A committee of five had already drafted the formal declaration, to be ready when Congress voted on independence. The term "Declaration of Independence" is not used in the document itself. Adams persuaded the committee to select Thomas Jefferson to compose the original draft of the document,[3] which Congress would edit to produce the final version. The Declaration was ultimately a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The national birthday, Independence Day, is celebrated on July 4, although Adams wanted July 2. After ratifying the text on July 4, Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms. It was initially published as the printed Dunlap broadside that was widely distributed and read to the public. The source copy used for this printing has been lost, and may have been a copy in Thomas Jefferson's hand.[4] Jefferson's original draft, complete with changes made by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, and Jefferson's notes of changes made by Congress, are preserved at the Library of Congress. The best known version of the Declaration, a signed copy that is popularly regarded as the official document, is displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D. C. This engrossed copy was ordered by Congress on July 1. August 2.[5][6]The sources and interpretation of the Declaration have been the subject of much scholarly inquiry. The Declaration justified the independence of the United States by listing colonial grievances against King George III, and by asserting certain natural and legal rights, including a right of revolution. Having served its original purpose in announcing independence, references to the text of the Declaration were few in the following years. Text of the Declaration of Independence. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to. Here is the complete text of the Unanimous Declaration of Independence. This document represents a primary resource in understanding the history of America. The Declaration of Independence: The Full Text in English. This Declaration of Independence, signed 236 years ago today, was in its essence, rebellious in nature. The DeCLaraTIoN of INDePeNDeNCe Action of Second Continental Congress, July 4, 1776 The Unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America. Abraham Lincoln made it the centerpiece of his rhetoric (as in the Gettysburg Address of 1. Since then, it has become a well- known statement on human rights, particularly its second sentence: 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. This has been called "one of the best- known sentences in the English language",[7] containing "the most potent and consequential words in American history".[8] The passage came to represent a moral standard to which the United States should strive. This view was notably promoted by Abraham Lincoln, who considered the Declaration to be the foundation of his political philosophy, and argued that the Declaration is a statement of principles through which the United States Constitution should be interpreted.[9]The United States Declaration of Independence inspired many other similar documents in other countries in the 1. Low Countries, and then to the Caribbean, Spanish America, the Balkans, West Africa, and Central Europe in the decades up to 1. Background. Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration. Believe me, dear Sir: there is not in the British empire a man who more cordially loves a union with Great Britain than I do. But, by the God that made me, I will cease to exist before I yield to a connection on such terms as the British Parliament propose; and in this, I think I speak the sentiments of America. By the time the Declaration of Independence was adopted in July 1. Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain had been at war for more than a year. Relations between the colonies and the mother country had been deteriorating since 1. Parliament enacted a series of measures to increase revenue from the colonies. Parliament believed that these acts, such as the Stamp Act of 1. Townshend Acts of 1. British Empire.[1. Many colonists, however, had developed a different conception of the empire. Because the colonies were not directly represented in Parliament, colonists argued that Parliament had no right to levy taxes upon them. This tax dispute was part of a larger divergence between British and American interpretations of the British Constitution and the extent of Parliament's authority in the colonies.[1. The orthodox British view, dating from the Glorious Revolution of 1. Parliament was the supreme authority throughout the empire, and so by definition anything Parliament did was constitutional.[1. In the colonies, however, the idea had developed that the British Constitution recognized certain fundamental rights that no government—not even Parliament—could violate.[1. After the Townshend Acts, some essayists even began to question whether Parliament had any legitimate jurisdiction in the colonies at all.[1. Anticipating the arrangement of the British Commonwealth,[1. American writers such as Samuel Adams, James Wilson, and Thomas Jefferson were arguing that Parliament was the legislature of Great Britain only, and that the colonies, which had their own legislatures, were connected to the rest of the empire only through their allegiance to the Crown.[1. Congress convenes. The issue of Parliament's authority in the colonies became a crisis after Parliament passed the Coercive Acts in 1. Province of Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party of 1. Many colonists saw the Coercive Acts as a violation of the British Constitution and thus a threat to the liberties of all of British America. In September 1. 77. First Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia to coordinate a response. Declaration of Independence IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it. National Humanities Center Second Continental Congress, Declaration of Independence, 1776 2 He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most. Congress organized a boycott of British goods and petitioned the king for repeal of the acts. These measures were unsuccessful because King George and the ministry of Prime Minister Lord North were determined not to retreat on the question of parliamentary supremacy. As the king wrote to North in November 1. Even after fighting in the American Revolutionary War began at Lexington and Concord in April 1. Great Britain.[2. When the Second Continental Congress convened at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia in May 1. Although many colonists no longer believed that Parliament had any sovereignty over them, they still professed loyalty to King George, whom they hoped would intercede on their behalf. They were to be disappointed: in late 1. Congress's second petition, issued a Proclamation of Rebellion, and announced before Parliament on October 2. A pro- American minority in Parliament warned that the government was driving the colonists toward independence.[2. Toward independence. In January 1. 77. Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense was published.[2. Paine, who had only recently arrived in the colonies from England, argued in favor of colonial independence, advocating republicanism as an alternative to monarchy and hereditary rule.[2. Common Sense introduced no new ideas,[2. Congress's thinking about independence; its importance was in stimulating public debate on a topic that few had previously dared to openly discuss.[2. Public support for separation from Great Britain steadily increased after the publication of Paine's enormously popular pamphlet.[2. The Assembly Room in Philadelphia's Independence Hall, where the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Although some colonists still held out hope for reconciliation, developments in early 1. In February 1. 77. Parliament's passage of the Prohibitory Act, which established a blockade of American ports and declared American ships to be enemy vessels. John Adams, a strong supporter of independence, believed that Parliament had effectively declared American independence before Congress had been able to. Adams labeled the Prohibitory Act the "Act of Independency", calling it "a compleat Dismemberment of the British Empire".[2. Support for declaring independence grew even more when it was confirmed that King George had hired German mercenaries to use against his American subjects.[3. Despite this growing popular support for independence, Congress lacked the clear authority to declare it. Delegates had been elected to Congress by thirteen different governments—which included extralegal conventions, ad hoc committees, and elected assemblies—and were bound by the instructions given to them. Regardless of their personal opinions, delegates could not vote to declare independence unless their instructions permitted such an action.[3. Several colonies, in fact, expressly prohibited their delegates from taking any steps towards separation from Great Britain, while other delegations had instructions that were ambiguous on the issue.[3. As public sentiment for separation from Great Britain grew, advocates of independence sought to have the Congressional instructions revised. For Congress to declare independence, a majority of delegations would need authorization to vote for independence, and at least one colonial government would need to specifically instruct (or grant permission for) its delegation to propose a declaration of independence in Congress. Between April and July 1. Revising instructions. In the campaign to revise Congressional instructions, many Americans formally expressed their support for separation from Great Britain in what were effectively state and local declarations of independence. Historian Pauline Maier identified more than ninety such declarations that were issued throughout the Thirteen Colonies from April to July 1. These "declarations" took a variety of forms. Some were formal, written instructions for Congressional delegations, such as the Halifax Resolves of April 1.
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