On July 4, 1776, the United States officially declared its independence from the British Empire when the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration was authored by a “Committee of Five”—John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman—with Jefferson as the main drafter. But Jefferson himself later admitted In Congress, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America. declare the causes which impel them to the separation. among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure. likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate. hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the The U.S. Declaration of Independence, adopted July 4, 1776, was the first formal statement by a nation's people asser La Declaración de Independencia EN EL CONGRESO, a 4 de julio de 1776 La Declaración unánime de los trece Estados unidos de América, Cuando en el curso de los acontecimientos humanos se hace necesario para un pueblo disolver These images are in the public domain and no permission is required to use them. Please credit the National Archives as the original source. The Declaration of Independence High-Resolution Declaration Image (1.43 MB) This image is of the actual Declaration of Independence parchment. The Declaration of Independence, the founding document of the United States, was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, and announced the separation of 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain. It explained why the Congress on July 2 “unanimously” (by the votes of 12 colonies, with New York abstaining) had On July 4, 1776, the United States officially declared its independence from the British Empire when the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration was authored by a “Committee of Five”—John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas On the 25th of June, a declaration of the deputies of Pennsylvania, met in provincial conference, expressing their willingness to concur in a vote declaring the United Colonies free and inde-pendent States, was laid before Congress and read. Nearly every printed or manuscript edition of the Declaration of Independence has slight differences in punctuation, capitalization, and even wording. To find out more about the diverse textual tradition of the Declaration, check out our Which Version is This, and Why Does it Matter? resource. Declaration of Independence, 17761 IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle We hold these truths to be self-evident, 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. The Declaration of Independence states the principles on which our government, and our identity as Americans, are based. Unlike the other founding documents, the Declaration of Independence is not legally binding, but it is powerful. The Declaration and Bill of Rights reflect a fear of an overly centralized government imposing its will on the people of the states; the Constitution was designed to empower the central government to preserve the blessings of liberty for “We the People of the United States.” DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE (Adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776) The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the We hold these truths to be self-evident, 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. What is the Declaration of Independence? The Declaration of Independence is the founding document of the United States of America. Adopted by Congress on 4 July 1776, it explains why the United States decided to claim independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution. It has since been recognized as a major human rights document. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution on display in the Library of Congress prior to the removal to the National Archives, 13 December 1952 The National Archives' Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom where, between two Barry Faulkner murals, the original United States Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, and
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