Declaration+of+Independence


 * Declaration of Independence **

[|Declaration of Independence] was issued in 1776. The Congress chose a group to write an official statement about freedom to govern themselves to be sent to King George III. **Ben Franklin**, John Adams, Robert R. Livingston,  Thomas Jefferson, & Robert Sherman were in the committee to write the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson used his knowledge as a 33-year-old lawyer who had studied law and government, to explain his ideas to the rest of the committee. The other members offered some ideas, too, but Jefferson wrote most of it. For about 17 days, every evening, Thomas Jefferson carefully wrote & rewrote the draft of the Declaration of Independence. The Preamble states why the Declaration was needed. Jefferson wrote in the Preamble that "sometimes, events leave a group of people no choice but to form a new nation." The Statement of Rights describes the colonists' main ideas about government & argues for equality & liberty. Equality & liberty as political concepts were stated with the most famous words in history: " We hold the truths to be self-evident, that all men were created equal, that they are provided by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." The longest part of the Declaration of Independence was charges against the king that lists the colonists' complaints against King George III. Jefferson also listed the ways the colonists had tried to settle their differences with the British peacefully. In the last part, the Statement of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that the colonies were free & independent states. On June 28, it was read aloud to the delegates & for several days, it was dicussed, & some changes were made. On July 4, 1776, Congress voted to accept the Declaration of Independence's final wording & delegates from 12 states voted. On July 8, crowds gathered at the State House or Independence Hall, and [|Colonel John Nixon] announced the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence . By August 2, a formal copy of the Declaration of Independence wasready to be signed by the 56 members of the Second Continental Congress. In the Declaration, Jefferson wrote, '...we mutally pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor." They mean that the signers of the Declaration would defend one another, no matter what. The signers were willing to risk their lives because they belived in freedom. patriots were willing to suffer the terrible hardships and years of war to win their freedom. Thousands died in that struggle. Since the United States won its independence, millions of people have served their nation to keep their country free. It's an important part of our nation's history and has affected the way many Americans thought about people's rights to life and liberty.

Posted on July 4th, 2008 by [|Genie Keller]
 * [[image:Declaration_of_Indepence.jpeg width="454" height="414" align="left"]] || [[image:http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:lMhW7on4d-k9NM:http://earlyamerica.com/image/earlyamerica/freedom/doi/doi.jpg width="80" height="178"]] ||= **I AM THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE**

I was born in 1776 on the 4th of July Amid strife and the burning question of, why? My aim to succeed in every way To Bless my people with hope everyday. My every word took a solemn beginning The anticipation of futures and also of winning. I was written with skill from far above With meaningful words, blended with love. The pattern was struck into every mind To explain what was there for all mankind. The Truth of the Right belongs to all men To protect it and Guard it, secured to the end. Now with hope in our hearts and the will of the state With life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, OR, our fate I pledged to each person, the promise of peace For Loyalty and Independence never to cease. I wrote to protect us in all of our Rights And grant us much strength through out all of the nights. ||

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Timeline:
 * June 7 - Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution urging Congress to declare independence from Great Britain.
 * June 11 - Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston were appointed to a committee to draft a declaration of independence.
 * June 28 - A fair copy of the committee draft of the Declaration of Independence was read in Congress.
 * July 1-4 - Congress debated and revised the Declaration of Independence.
 * July 2 - Congress declared independence by adopting the Lee Resolution.
 * July 4 - Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.
 * July 4 - Congress ordered that the Declaration of Independence be printed (Dunlap Broadsides).
 * July 19 - Congress ordered the Declaration of Independence engrossed (officially inscribed) and signed by members.
 * August 2 - The engrossed copy of the Declaration of Independence was signed by most of the delegates. Elbridge Gerry, Oliver Wolcott, Lewis Morris, Thomas McKean, and Matthew Thornton all signed on a later date.

Biblography:


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Click to listen to Declaration of Independence: [|The Declaration of Independence]