Declaration of Independence 1776 | Summary, Significance, Facts

The Declaration of Independence was a document adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which marked the start of the United States as an independent nation.

Historical context

War broke out between the British Army and American rebel militias with the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775.

The conflict continued through 1775, with the Patriot side soon forming the Continental Army and placing George Washington in charge of the colonies’ combined military.

However, despite the bloodshed, many colonists still held loyalties to the British Crown, and believed that reconciliation was possible between the two sides.

In July 1775, the Continental Congress sent the Olive Branch Petition to King George III, restating the colonists’ loyalty to Great Britain, and asking to open the door to negotiations. This was ignored by the British Crown, and King George soon declared that the colonists were traitors.

As the fighting proceeded into 1776, it became increasingly clear that the British and American sides could not reconcile their differences. As a result, Patriot politicians began pushing toward independence from Great Britain.

Most notably, Thomas Paine released a pamphlet titled Common Sense in January 1776, arguing for the establishment of an independent, democratic government that would represent colonists’ interests.

The pamphlet proved immensely popular, and played a significant role in persuading the population to support independence.

In the spring of 1776, members of the Second Continental Congress began preparing for an official declaration of independence from Great Britain, spearheaded by John Adams, Richard Henry Lee, and Samuel Adams, among other Founding Fathers.

One of the problems was, delegates from certain colonies were restricted from voting for independence by their colonial governments. This had to be changed by the legislative assemblies of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and some other colonies in the lead-up to the summer of 1776.

Other colonies were split on the issue, leading to negotiations and political maneuvering to get the support of all thirteen colonies. New York abstained from the initial vote on July 2, and only approved independence on the 9th of that month.

Summary

The majority of the Declaration of Independence was written from June 11 to June 28, 1776.

The first draft was primarily authored by Thomas Jefferson, before being edited by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston. These men later became known as the Committee of Five.

On July 1, the Lee Resolution was presented to the Second Continental Congress for debate, which was the legal act of separation from Great Britain. It was then voted on, with each of the Thirteen Colonies given a single vote.

Initially, only nine of the 13 delegations voted in favor of independence, with New York abstaining due to a lack of authority, and South Carolina and Pennsylvania opposing independence.

After another day of negotiations, South Carolina and Pennsylvania voted in favor, as did Delaware, whose delegates had been deadlocked. In the end, the resolution was passed with 12 votes in favor and one abstention (New York).

On July 4, the Declaration of Independence was officially approved by the Second Continental Congress, serving as the official public explanation and justification for the passage of the Lee Resolution.

The Declaration was first officially printed by John Dunlap in Philadelphia on the night of July 4, before being published in the Pennsylvania Evening Post on July 6.

The document was read in public for the first time on July 8. It took until August for the Declaration to become widely available in Great Britain.

Content

The main points made by the Declaration of Independence were:

• The Thirteen Colonies were establishing an independent nation, separate from Great Britain, called the United States, and no longer subject to the authority of the British Crown.
• The United States of America would be founded on certain principles such as the rights of man, especially the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
• The purpose of the government was to protect these rights, and its power relied on the consent of the governed.
• King George III had repeatedly violated colonists’ rights, including cutting off trade, implementing illegal taxes, dissolving colonial legislatures, refusing to approve necessary colonial laws, and waging war against the colonies. In total, 27 grievances against King George were listed.

Motivations

The motivations of the Founding Fathers for issuing the Declaration were primarily:

• To officially separate the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain.
• To justify why independence was necessary and explain to colonists and the wider world what the Patriots were fighting for.
• To encourage public support for independence from Great Britain and unite the colonies in achieving this goal. Similar to Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, the Declaration aimed to explain why independence was necessary, and get the public on board for what would be a difficult fight against the British Army. John Adams and others believed that America would be stronger as a single country rather than as a group of colonies in resisting the British.
• To show the seriousness of the Patriots’ conviction in their cause. The Declaration was considered an act of treason by the British, punishable by death, and the document’s signers knew that they were risking their lives in attaching their names to it.
• To encourage foreign powers, especially France, to support the Patriot cause. The Declaration portrayed the Patriot cause as that of a new country seeking alliances rather than a group of rebels skirmishing with Great Britain.

Significance

The Declaration of Independence effectively led to the creation of the United States of America.

It largely succeeded in helping to unite the Thirteen Colonies in resistance against the British Army, and in garnering popular support for independence.

The document set in stone the goal of the revolution, helping to coordinate the future activities of the Continental Congress and the state assemblies in organizing military activities, foreign relations, espionage, the economy, and other domestic affairs.

The Declaration was also successful in helping the colonists secure support for the war effort from foreign countries such as France, Spain, and the Netherlands, which would go on to be an important reason why America won the Revolutionary War.

Importantly, the Declaration on its own did not grant American independence. It would take years of fighting, eventually culminating in the signing of the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783, before America was officially recognized as an independent nation by Great Britain and the wider world. 

Today, the Fourth of July is a federal holiday celebrated nationwide as the birthday of the United States.

Facts

• The Declaration of Independence was predominantly written by Thomas Jefferson at 700 Market Street, Philadelphia. The residence has since been rebuilt and is now known as Declaration House.
• In editing Jefferson’s first draft of the Declaration, approximately a quarter of the original document was removed. Many parts were cut in order to appease colonies that were more hesitant to approve the draft, and to make the Declaration more palatable to wider audiences, including internationally. Jefferson was annoyed by these large-scale edits to his work.
• The document widely recognized as the original Declaration of Independence was signed by most congressional delegates on August 2, 1776, and is currently on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. It has faded significantly in the time it has been displayed and is now quite difficult to read.
• The most famous line in the Declaration is arguably “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.”
• John Adams wrongly believed that July 2 would be the day Americans celebrated each year, given that this was when the Declaration was approved by Congress. As early as 1777, celebrations were held on July 4, and Massachusetts became the first state to make July 4 an official state holiday in 1781.
• Many of the most famous Founding Fathers, including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay did not sign the Declaration of Independence, in most cases because they were not members of the Continental Congress at the time.
• Initially, Delaware’s delegates were split on whether to vote for independence, with one delegate for and one against the movement. The third delegate, Caesar Rodney, rode 18 straight hours from Kent County, Delaware, to Philadelphia on July 1-2 in order to break the deadlock, allowing Delaware to vote in favor of independence.
• The Declaration stated that “all men are created equal” despite slavery remaining legal and political representation largely being restricted to male landowners at the time it was published. Abolitionists and suffragists later used this language to argue in support of banning slavery and allowing women to vote and run for political office.