Declaration+of+Independence

Table of Contents 1. Overview 2. Causes 3. Background 4. The Declaration Itself 5. Effects 6. Resources =﻿Overview= Unlike what most believe, the Declaration of Independence was not signed on the 4th of July, and was not titled "The Declaration of Independence". The document was written mainly by thomas Jefferson, on behalf of the Second Continental Congress. The decision to declare independence from Britain was taken by vote on July 2nd, 1776 in response to a resolution submitted on June 7th by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia. On June 10th, Congress agreed to create a committee to "prepare a declaration to the effect of [Lee's] resolution." That committee was made up of five men (Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Ben Franklin, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman. The first copy of the Declaration was finished and even signed by some members by August 2nd, 1776

=Causes=

Many American colonists at this time had been killed at the Boston Massacre, Lexington and Concord, and Bunker Hill. Revolution is thought to have started long before the Revolutionary War when the colonists brought a new sense of independence to a new continent across the Atlantic Ocean. This new freedom that the colonists had obtained led to local self-governments which would eventually become a unique and comprehensive system that had never been used before. The path to independence speed up drastically when Britain decided to tighten its control over America. The discontent of the colonists was seen at the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773 where a group of men dressed as indians threw the tea off of a East India Company ship into the Boston harbor. The most important influence on the minds of colonial Americans in 1776 had been Thomas Paine's,//Common Sense// which sold 120,000 copies in the first three months (remarkable compared to todays population). This 47 page pamphlet called for immediate independence and used sound reasoning to back his opinion. Of the 13 colonies, the fist one that called for the idea of independence was North Carolina. Soon many other colonies would follow in North Carolina's footsteps.

**﻿Background**
Jefferson was the first person named to draw up the Declaration. This was because the proprieties called for a representative from Virginia to write it. Jefferson was a great literary writer and the other delegates appointed to the committee were either obnoxious and not liked as much as Jefferson or they were not from Virginia. Jefferson gave his draft to Johns Adams and Benjamin Franklin before he gave it to the rest of the delegates at the committee. Jefferson wrote the Declaration in hopes, "'to place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so firm and plain as to command their assent, and to justify ourselves in the independent stand we are compelled to take'"(__The Story of The Declaration of Independence__, Malone). Jefferson claimed no originality for the philosophy he used to create the Declaration, it was meant to be the arguments of all American patriots of this time. The "Rough Draft" of the Declaration went through multiple people's judgements including Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and Congress. The most important omission from the Declaration was the passage about the slave trade which was taken out by Congress. Congress decided that the Declaration would be proclaimed on July 4th, 1776. Huge, day-long celebrations followed the proclamation of the Declaration of Independence, the colonists were more celebrating the escape from British rule. The Declaration to this day is still considered one of, if not the most important documents ever created in American history.

=The Declaration Itself= The declaration opens with a preamble describing the document's purpose and explaining why the colonies have overthrown their ruler and have chosen to separate from Britain. It states that all men are created equal and there are certain unalienable rights that governments should never violate. These rights include the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. When a government fails to protect those rights, it is not only the right, but also the duty of the people to overthrow that government. In its place, the people should establish a government that is designed to protect those rights. In this case, a long history of abuses had led the colonists to overthrow a tyrannical government.
 * Preamble:**

The Declaration then goes on to list 27 specific abuses by the King George III. The list stated that the King interfered with the colonists' right to self-government and for a fair judicial system. Acting with Parliament, the King also instituted legislation that affected the colonies without their consent. This legislation levied taxes on the colonists. It also required them to quarter British soldiers, removed their right to trial by jury, and prevented them from trading freely. Additionally, the King and Parliament were guilty of outright destruction of American life and property by their refusal to protect the colonies' borders, their confiscation of American ships at sea, and their intent to hire foreign mercenaries to fight against the colonists.
 * List of Abuses and Grievances:**

The next section of the document tells how the colonists had tried to peacefully negotiate with the British but were very rudely ignored. The section says that up until this declaration, the colonists had used non-violent means, such as petitions, to protest the abuses of King George III. Each attempt to request peaceful negotiations was met by neglect and more abuse. Additionally, colonists tried to appeal to Parliament and other British citizens for help. These attempts were ignored. Colonists appealed to British citizens' sense of justice, their shared heritage and culture, and their economic connection, however, these attempts failed, and the colonies had no other choice but to declare separation. In doing so, the new separate nation would view British citizens as enemies during war, and as friends during peace.
 * Past Actions of the Colonists:**

The final paragraph of the Declaration establishes and sets the framework for the new government that will take over the new nation. It says that the Second Continental Congress represented the people of the new nation called the United States of America. That this declaration informed all the people of the world that the 13 united colonies were free from British rule and any political connections with Great Britain. The declaration also would serve to appeal to the people of the world to understand the reasons why this separation was legitimate and justifiable. The independent states had the power to levy war, make peace, make alliances with foreign nations, and conduct trade. The newly independent states would believe that God would protect them in their journey to establish a fair government. The citizens of each colony pledged their loyalty and lives to the cause of the newly independent nation. The document then concludes with the signatures of 56 delegates from all 13 colonies. = = =Effect= The Declaration set the principles that were very important in the governing and ideals of the colonies. They brought natural rights that were first declared by John Locke, an English philosopher, and made sure that these rights were never to be threatened by government. Thanks to the Declaration, every citizen of the United States is guaranteed the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Of course the Declaration of Independence also declared the colonies independent from Great Britain. Political, social, and other groups still look to the second paragraph of the Declaration for support backing fights for rights and equality. The Declaration was also used in talk of slavery because of the trivial statement "all men are created equal". There was a paragraph in the original Declaration that dealt with slavery and the abolishment of it, but Jefferson was forced to delete it in order to gain the approval of the necessary number of states. The great Abraham Lincoln used this statement as well as other parts of the Declaration while writing the Emancipation Proclamation fighting for freedom and the end to slavery. The Declaration of Independence also was influential to the writers of other famous, important United States documents, as long as other political pieces of work internationally. The Declaration influenced the Constitution as well as the Bill of Rights, as there are many closely related subjects in both. The two biggest, most important effects of the Declaration of Independence, as noted before, must be that it gave people the universal right to have some say in the ways that they are governed and who governs them and it created an independent nation, with all the rights that come with being a sovereign nation, that is now the superpower of the world.
 * Conclusion and the Definition of the New Government:**

=Resources= Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Andrew Bailey. The American Pageant: a History of the Republic. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Print. Malone, Dumas, Hirst Milhollen, and Milton Kaplan. The Story Of The Declaration of Independence. New York: Oxford UP, 1954. Print. "The American Destiny: An Illustrated Bicentennial History of the United States: #2 The War of Independence - The Danbury Press" "The American Destiny: An Illustrated Bicentennial History of the United States: #1 The War of Independence - The Danbury Press" "The Declaration of Independence." Founding.com: A Project of the Claremont Institute. The Claremont Institute, 2009. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. .