On July 2, 1776, after months of deliberation and while directing battle in the colonies and Canada, the Second Continental Congress voted to declare the “united States of America” separate and independent from Britain. 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 The Declaration of Independence On 15 May 1776 Virginia instructed its delegates in Congress to move that the col-onies declare themselves “free and independent states. . . .” In Congress, on 7 June, Rich-ard Henry Lee moved a three-part resolution: that “These United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states,” that they should take measures to form foreign DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 2 He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. He has kept among us, in time of peace, standing armies, without the consent or our legislatures. He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to, the civil power. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE (Adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776) The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America The Declaration of Independence Action of Second Continental Congress, July 4, 1776. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE (1776) Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), a Virginia planter and lawyer who emerged from the Revolution renowned as an American statesman and philosopher, levied his first major charge against the British government when he wrote A Summary View of the Rights of British America in 1774. While arguing against Parliament's power, however, he still promoted allegiance to On July 2, 1776, after months of deliberation and while directing battle in the colonies and Canada, the Second Continental Congress voted to declare the “united States of America” separate and independent from Britain. On July 4, the Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration, written primarily by Thomas Jefferson. Nous tenons pour évidentes pour elles-mêmes les vérités suivantes : tous les hommes sont créés égaux ; ils sont doués par le Créateur de certains droits inaliénables; parmi ces droits se trouvent la vie, la liberté et la recherche du bonheur. Les gouvernements sont établis parmi les hommes pour garantir ces droits, et leur juste pouvoir émane du consentement des gouvernés. Toutes The Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776 On 15 May 1776 Virginia instructed its delegates in Congress to move that the col-onies declare themselves “free and independent states. . . .” In Congress, on 7 June, Rich-ard Henry Lee moved a three-part resolution: that “These United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states,” that they should take measures to 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 los vínculos políticos que lo han ligado a otro y tomar entre las naciones de la tierra el puesto separado e igual a que las leyes de la naturaleza y el Dios de esa naturaleza le dan derecho, un 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 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 SUMMARY 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 These three documents, known collectively as the Charters of Freedom, have secured the rights of the American people for more than two and a quarter centuries and are considered instrumental to the founding and philosophy of the United States. Declaration of Independence Learn More The Declaration of Independence expresses the ideals on which the United States was founded and the reasons for By 1821, many new Latin American nations wrote their declarations patterned after our Declaration of Independence. New nations after the Great War also used the American declaration as a model for their new governments. Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, 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. "The Declaration of Independence" is a seminal historical document crafted by the Founding Fathers of the United States, specifically authored by Thomas Jefferson and other members of the Continental Congress in the late 18th century. 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. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE—1776 from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compli-ance with his measures. He has dissolved Representative Houses re-peatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. 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
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