The Declaration of Independence is the document by which the 13 colonies proclaimed their independence from Great Britain. It was adopted in its final form on July 4, 1776. The goal of the document was to announce the independence of the colonies to the world and to list the reasons why the Revolution was legitimate. Although its statement that “all men are created equal” has received the most historical attention, the majority of the words in the document are devoted to a catalog of what the colonists saw as the transgressions of King George III.
The delegates of the First Continental Congress in no way intended to declare independence from Great Britain. The delegates met simply to discuss forms of resistance to the British imperial regulation and the Coercive Acts (1774). On October 14, 1774, the delegates passed a resolution called the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, which denied the right of Parliament to tax the colonies and presented the king with a list of grievances. Six days later they agreed to the Continental Association setting up a timetable for banning all imports and exports to Great Britain. The Association also empowered local committees to take charge of the boycott on trade with the British. The members of the First Continental Congress were careful to maintain their loyalty to the king, and they claimed they wanted to restore their relationship to what it had been. When the Congress adjourned, they agreed to meet again in May 1775.
By the time the Second Continental Congress convened, extralegal provincial assemblies were replacing the legal legislative bodies and royal governors. The outbreak of actual fighting at Lexington and Concord (April 19, 1775), altered the mission of the Second Continental Congress. The Congress now had to operate as a governmental body in order to run a war.
Even though the war had begun, it was many months before the Congress issued the Declaration of Independence. On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia read his resolution to the Congress, which began: “Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.” Lee’s sentiments echoed those of a growing number of people. In August 1775 the king had issued a proclamation declaring the colonies to be in open rebellion. Congress also learned that the king had hired German mercenaries to fight in America. It became increasingly clear that the British government was treating the colonies as a foreign body, and Congress increasingly acted like one. On April 6, 1776, Congress opened American ports to trade with other nations. Many revolutionary Americans began to think that independence was inevitable. This rise in popular sentiment was partly due to the publication of Common Sense in January 1776. By May 1776, eight colonies had decided that they would support independence, and there are at least 90 documents dating from before July 4 declaring independence that were passed by states, committees, and other groups of revolutionary Americans. However, there were still some members of Congress who wished to continue to seek reconciliation with Britain. Although Congress voted to postpone discussion of the Lee resolution in early June, it also appointed a committee of five to draft a statement offering the arguments for independence.
The Declaration of Independence presented by the committee to the Continental Congress on July 1 was written almost entirely by Thomas Jefferson. The Sage of Monticello worked on his draft from June 11 to June 28 in Philadelphia. Benjamin Frankfin and John Adams offered adjustments. Congress, meeting as a Committee of the Whole, made some more substantial changes to the wording. For example Jefferson had wanted to blame the king for the SFAVE trade, but Congress thought better of addressing the issue of real SFAVERY. Regardless of the changes the essential language and argument remained the same. The key to Jefferson’s eloquence was his combination of lofty principles, pulling on the ideas of John Locke and the writings of the COMMONWEAFTHMEN, with an indictment of King George for usurping American liberty. The opening sections were especially compelling because they proclaimed that all men are created equal and asserted a social-contract theory of government. The list of griev-
The Declaration of Independence was first read publicly in Philadelphia from the balcony of Independence Hall on July 8, 1776. (Library of Congress)
Ances, while effective propaganda at the time, do not hold up to modern scrutiny as an accurate statements of events. Revolutionary Americans may have interpreted King George’s actions as a concerted plan to destroy liberty, but there is little evidence to suggest that the various efforts at imperial regulation passed by Parliament and pursued by several different administrations in Great Britain, reflected anything close to a conspiracy.
Americans celebrate July 4th as the national holiday of American Independence, but the actual timing of events is more complex. On July 2 Congress voted 12 states to none to declare independence (New York was allowed not to vote, since its delegation wanted to have approval of its state’s convention). From the second to the fourth, Congress debated the wording of the document. When this process of revision was over, on the fourth, the Declaration of Independence became official. On the fifth of July Congress dispatched word of the Declaration to the states and the army. On the ninth, New York approved of the action.
Delegates to the Continental Congress approve the Declaration of Independence, held by Thomas Jefferson. (National Archives)
Finally, on August 2, 1776, most of the delegates signed the document that has become an icon in the National Archives in Washington, D. C., including and most conspicuously, the signature of the president of Congress, John Hancock.
See also resistance movement; Revolutionary War.
Further reading: Carl L. Becker, The Declaration of Independence: A Study on the History of Ideas (New York: Knopf, 1942); Pauline Maier, The American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence (New York: Knopf, 1997); Garry Wills, Inventing America: Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence (Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday, 1978).
World History
