The Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on 4 July 1776, announced the separation of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain. Drafted mainly by Thomas Jefferson, its second paragraph is one of the most famous statements of human rights.
Drafting
In June 1776 Congress appointed a committee of five, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston, to prepare a declaration. Jefferson wrote the draft in a few days in a rented room in Philadelphia.
Adams and Franklin made changes, and Congress, after voting for independence on 2 July, debated the text and cut about a quarter of it, including a passage condemning the slave trade.
The text
The Declaration sets out a philosophy of natural rights, that governments derive their power from the consent of the governed and may be abolished when they become destructive of those rights.
It then lists grievances against King George III and declares the colonies 'free and independent states'. The signed parchment copy was signed by most delegates on 2 August 1776.
Legacy
The Declaration was read aloud in towns and to the army, and the anniversary of its adoption became the national holiday. Its principles were later invoked by abolitionists, by Lincoln at Gettysburg and by the women's rights movement at Seneca Falls in 1848.
The original signed parchment, much faded, is displayed in the Rotunda of the National Archives in Washington.
Anecdotes
Fifty-six signatures
The Declaration was signed by fifty-six delegates. John Hancock, president of Congress, signed first and largest, and 'John Hancock' became an American expression for a signature.
Two presidents, one day
Jefferson and John Adams, both members of the drafting committee and later presidents, died on the same day: 4 July 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration.
Frequently asked questions
Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson wrote the draft, revised by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Congress.
When was it adopted?
On 4 July 1776, two days after Congress voted for independence.
Where is the original?
In the Rotunda of the National Archives in Washington, D.C.