The Declaration of Independence

http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/

After the initial military conflicts of Lexington & Concord between the Colonial militias and the British regulars, it was clear that what awaited North America was a full-on war. The second Continental Congress and its delegates had one vital question before them that would define the outcome of this nationʻs future. Would they fight to preserve and uphold their rights as Englishmen, or would they fight for their natural rights as free and independent Americans? The conservative delegates and colonists of the time Preferred making amends with the crown, while very few others such as John Adams and Thomas Jefferson advocated for independence. Yet there was no turning back, as King George III railed against the colonies and ordered the enlargement of the Royal army and navy. Once news of this reached the colonies, most people who were in favor of reconciliation abandoned those hopes as a whole.

Thomas Jefferson was a member of the Virginia Convention that passed the resolution instructing the Virginia delegates to make a motion for independence at the Continental Congress. He also ended up being elected one of the five Virginia delegates to the Continental Congress. They carried the Virginia Resolution with them to Philadelphia and presented it to the Continental Congress on June 7, 1776. Richard Henry Lee actually introduced the resolution before the Congress, so it is has come to be known as the “Lee Resolution. This was a precursor to what was soon to be the declaration of Independence.

In June of 1776, a five-man committee comprised of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin was tasked with drafting a statement of the coloniesʻ common intentions. A vote was held whereby nine colonies voted for independence. Two colonies, Pennsylvania and South Carolina, voted against independence. This motion of independence was put forth in the Continental Congress on June 30th of 1776. Thomas Jefferson was tasked with writing the Declaration of independence, which consisted of the grievances held towards the British and reasons as to why the colonies wanted to secede from the Empire. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in under three weeks. After he was through with the original draft, he gave it to Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, fellow members of the declaration drafting committee, for their comments.  Immediately after voting for independence, the delegates began to examine and debate Jefferson’s drafted declaration. They debated the various parts and the wording for the rest of the 2nd, the 3rd and into the morning of July 4th. Finally, after rewording certain parts and deleting others, they became satisfied with the document and voted to publish it as their official Declaration of Independence to the world.