United States Declaration of Independence
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The United States Declaration of Independence is an important document in the history of the United States of America. It was written in 1776 and says that the United States of America colonies are no longer under rule of Great Britain.
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[change] History
[change] Before the Declaration
Before 1776, the United States of America was not a country. The individual states were colonies of Great Britain. This means that the country of Great Britain ruled the United States. The declaration of independence was signed by 56 men.
[change] Effects
During this time, many American people were angry at Great Britain. Many say Americans did not like paying taxes to Great Britain when they did not have any representation in Parliament. But that is not entirely true. Americans thought that by coming to America, they wouldn't be ruled by the British. Now this was a disappointment because every tax they payed went toward Britain, and they still lived under the queen's rule. They did not want their lands to be colonies. They wanted America to be a country, so all American people could do what they wanted to do instead of what Great Britain wanted them to do.
[change] Taking action
Responding to actions taken by Great Britain, including the Intolerable Acts, the different colonies formed a Continental Congress to make decisions for all of the colonies. They met in the American city of Philadelphia. During a meeting of the Second Continental Congress, on June 11, 1776, they named John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, Robert R. Livingston of New York, and Roger Sherman of Connecticut to form a committee to draft a document that would become the Declaration of Independence.
[change] The Declaration
Jefferson did most of the writing. Jefferson writes of the rights of people and the role of government. Jefferson then lists specific bad things that the government of Great Britain did. There are many things, for example they put people in jail with no reason, made taxes that were too high, and did not give respect to people who lived in the colony.
[change] What it says
The Declaration then declares that the colonies are free, independent states.
The Continental Congress approved Jefferson's document. They used his document to declare their independence. Independence was actually declared on July 2, 1776. The full Continential Congress ratified (approved) the Declaration on July 4th, at the Pennsylvania State House. This version was only signed by the President of the Congress John Hancock and the Secretary Charles Thomson.
[change] Effects of the Declaration
The declaration had many effects. One of which included separating the people of America from the British government. It also had many effects on the history of America and Britain.
[change] Effects on Britain
They made a new democratic government to govern America. When the king of Great Britain and Parliament heard about this they were angry. Great Britain and the people in America had already been fighting in a war. This war is called the American Revolution. America won the war, and in 1783 Great Britain had to recognize the independence of the new country, the United States, at the Treaty of Paris.
[change] Effects on America
The people of America like the Declaration of Independence a lot. Every year on the day of July 4, they have a party called 'Independence Day'. They do this to remember the day that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration, and the day that the United States of America became a country. There are parades, fireworks, and songs.
The Declaration of Independence is also important because it says the simple ideas that the people who made the USA believe. It says that every person has rights (to life, to liberty, and to follow happiness) and that the government has to listen to the people. These things are what makes America a free country.
[change] Present day
The Declaration of Independence is very old, but it is still here. The paper that Thomas Jefferson used to write his important words is in the National Archives Museum in the American capital of Washington D.C at this very moment. The American Constitution and the Bill of Rights are there as well.
[change] Other websites
- Free eBook The Declaration of Independence at Project Gutenberg
- Independence day
- Declaration of Independence, with Jefferson's account, all the signers, extensive related information, from ushistory.org
- The Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence - Text of the rough draft at Duke University's website
- Library of Congress: Declaration of Independence and related resources
- PBS/NOVA: The Preservation and History of the Declaration
- National Geographic News: "U.S. Independence Celebrated on the Wrong Day?" (July 2, 2004)
- Colonial Hall: A line by line historical analysis of the grievances
- Virtualology: A Brief History of the Declaration and ownership of Dunlap printings
- "The Speech of the Unknown" from the book Washington and His Generals: or, Legends of the Revolution by George Lippard, published in 1847
[change] Maps, photos, and other media
- Deutsches Historisches Museum: First Printing in German of the Declaration of Independence
- "Drafting of the Declaration of Independence. The Committee: Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Livingston, and Sherman." 1776. Copy of engraving after Alonzo Chappel. (large version)
- "The Declaration of Independence" by John Trumbull. (large version)
- Interactive Flash Version of John Trumbull's "Declaration of Independence"
- Interactive High-resolution viewer with annotations of the Declaration on Footnote.com
[change] The Signers
- The Price They Paid Sorting Fact from Fiction.
- Signers of the Declaration of Independence
