Nathan Henry
American Civilization
Document Paper
6-21-15
“The
Declaration of Independence”
In
Congress, July 4, 1776… It was on this day that the “Declaration of Independence”
was written in the Continental Congress. This document was written so the colonies
in America could separate from the British that were controlling the colonies
and declare basic rights for mankind. There are three main points of the
Declaration, the first of which are the grievances against the King of England
and the wrongs that Britain did the colonies. The second was to declare
separation from the British and the third was to establish basic rights that
all men should have. This document went through several phases of fabrication
before the one Americans think of today was completed. This was the first step to
creating the United States and creating the American Nation that we know today.
The
Continental Congress formulated the first mention of breaking from England. Delegates
from the Congress were chosen and drafts were written to get the points of
separation across. Thomas Jefferson, being the best writer and communicator
over John Adams, wrote the drafts. These
drafts were written in Jefferson’s rented rooms in Philadelphia. On the first
of July, the Congress voted for a declaration of their independence. Then, on
the fourth of July, the final draft was presented and accepted in congress. “Congress
adopted the more poetic “Declaration of Independence”, drafted by Thomas
Jefferson, two days later, on July fourth. The president of Congress, John
Hancock, and the Congressional Secretary Charles Thompson, immediately signed
the handwritten draft, which was dispatched to nearby printers.” (Staff) These copies
were sent to nearby printers to be dispatched to the colonists and later sent
to England. It was not until the 19th
of July that Congress decided that they should have a written copy that they
should all sign. This was believed to be penned by Timothy Matlack and is the
version that we think of today.
The
main points of the “Declaration of Independence” were to separate the colonies
from England. This was first brought up by Richard Henry Lee who said “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.” (Staff) While
separating from England, the document lists the grievances that the colonists
believe the King had laid against them. These are the main twenty-seven reasons
for the separation. Most of these include the basic rights that were included
in the document that all men should have. “…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.” (Declaration of
Independence)
The Declaration
states that these rights should belong to all men and it is the duty of the
government to protect those rights. “That to secure these rights, Governments
are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed…”(“Declaration of Independence”) In the case of the colonists, the
British government violated those rights so the colonists established a new
government and separated from the British government to do so. “That whenever
any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of
the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying
its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to
them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” (“Declaration
of Independence”)
The last point
that the “Declaration of Independence” makes is that the thirteen colonies should
be and are a separate nation from the British Empire. This was an idea to
incite revolution in the colonists. The American war for independence was a
revolutionary idea in itself, being one of the first and most successful
breakaway of a colony from the British Empire.
The intended audience
of this paper was all of the colonists and the King of England. After the
declaration was written it was copied and sent to local print shops to be
printed and distributed among the thirteen colonies. Another copy of the document
was sent to England where it was both supported and rejected. “The British
Government did its best to dismiss the Declaration as a trivial document issued
by disgruntled colonists. British officials commissioned propagandists to
highlight the declaration’s flaws and to rebut the colonists’ complaints. The
Declaration divided British domestic opposition, as some American sympathizers
thought the Declaration had gone too far, but in British-ruled Ireland it had
many supporters.” (Historian) Even though
the document was sent as a Declaration of Independence for the colonists, the
British did not recognize the independence of the United States until the
Treaty of Paris in 1783. This is a historical document that is considered one
of the most important in American history. It is a declaration from the
colonists to the British for their independence.
The Declaration of
Independence declared independence for the colonists, their grievances against
King George III and stated basic rights that all men should have. This has been
considered the most important document in American history by many historians.
It was written by the delegates of the Second Continental Congress of the
United States and remains to be one of the vital documents for the people of
the United States.
Works Cited
Historian,
Office of the. Milestones: 1776-1783: The Declaration of Independance.
<www.history.state.gov/milestones/1776-1783/declaration>.
Staff, History.com. Delegates Sign the Declaration of
Independence.
<history.com/this-day-in-history/delegates-sign-the-declaration-of-independence>.
