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The Declaration was written and then published for the colonies to see and read. The publication took place in July of 1776, but Congress didn't vote on it until October 1776. The definition of the Declaration of Independence for APUSH is a foundational document adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson, it announced the independence of the 13 Original Colonies from British rule. June 7, 1776: Richard Henry Lee of Virginia moves “that these united colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states.” June 10, 1776: Congress votes to create a committee to draft a declaration of independence. June 11, 1776: Thomas Jefferson (VA), John Adams (MA), Benjamin Franklin (PA), Roger Sherman (CT), and Read more National Archives, Washington, D.C. The Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The document announced the separation of 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain. It was the last of a series of steps that led the colonies to final separation from Great Britain. The final draft of the Declaration was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, although the date of its signing has long been disputed. Most historians have concluded that it was signed on August 2, 1776, nearly a month after its adoption, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed. July 8, 1776 Colonel John Nixon reads the Declaration of Independence to a crowd on the State House Yard (now known as Independence Square). This is the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. July 19, 1776 Congress orders the Declaration engrossed for signatures. Thomas Jefferson was the principal drafter of the Declaration of Independence. The Second Continental Congress met in June of 1776 and the delegates chose Jefferson, their reasoning was he was an awkward speaker but a talented writer and his reputation as a writer has preceded him to Philadelphia. He described the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as "these fragile objects which bear so great a weight of meaning to our people." The story of the Declaration of Independence as a document can only be a part of the larger history, a history still unfolding, a "weight of meaning" constantly, challenged, strengthened, and redefined. Timeline of significant events related to the Declaration of Independence. The document proclaimed that the 13 original colonies of America were “free and independent states.” It was the last of a series of steps that led the colonies to final separation from Great Britain. July 4, 1776: Declaration of Independence Adopted & Printed Late in the morning of July 4, the Declaration was officially adopted, and the "Committee of Five" took the manuscript copy of the document to John Dunlap, official printer to the Congress. Which was the last colony to approve the declaration? New York How are Jefferson's claims about natural rights-the idea "that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights "-are presented in the Declaration? as commonsense concepts that were already well-established and widely accepted The document announced the separation of the 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain. The vote actually took place on July 2 and was approved by 12 colonies (with New York abstaining). The final version of the Declaration of Independence was formally approved on July 4, which became the national holiday known as Independence Day. Approved by Congress on 4 July 1776, the Declaration of American Independence stated that America’s 13 colonies were to be “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”. On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted to approve the Declaration of Independence. 12 of the 13 original colonies voted in favor of approving it. On July 4, the Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration, written primarily by Thomas Jefferson. Copies were immediately printed and distributed throughout the colonies and the continental troops. The Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence—written largely by Jefferson—in Philadelphia on July 4, a date now celebrated as the birth of American independence. Note: The following text is a transcription of the Stone Engraving of the parchment Declaration of Independence (the document on display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum.) The spelling and punctuation reflects the original. The Declaration justified the independence of the colonies, citing 27 colonial grievances against King George III and asserting certain natural and legal rights, including a right of revolution. The Declaration was unanimously ratified on July 4 by the Second Continental Congress, whose delegates represented each of the Thirteen Colonies. 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 The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It was engrossed on parchment and on August 2, 1776, delegates began signing it.
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