By June 1776, after a year of war and after Common Sense, most delegates in Congress were ready to break with Britain. Young learners meet it in The Declaration of Independence; you can read the whole text in the Harvard Classics reading for July 4.
Key idea
Congress voted for independence on July 2, 1776 (the Lee Resolution) and adopted the Declaration on July 4. Written mainly by Thomas Jefferson, it states a theory of government by consent, lists grievances against the King, and declares the colonies free and independent states.
Why it works
A people breaking away from its government needed to explain itself to the world and to win foreign help, and the Declaration says so: "a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes." Its argument runs like a proof. Premise: people have natural rights, and governments exist to secure them by the consent of the governed. Second premise: the King has repeatedly violated those rights (the grievances). Conclusion: the people may "alter or abolish" that government, so the colonies are free.
Worked example: The four parts
Name the four parts of the Declaration in order.
- An introduction: why a people must explain a separation.
- A statement of rights and the theory of government ("We hold these truths…").
- The list of grievances against the King (27 of them).
- The conclusion: the colonies "are, and of right ought to be, Free and Independent States."
Answer: Introduction, theory of government, grievances, declaration of independence.
Worked example: Who wrote it?
Who drafted the Declaration, and was it changed?
- Congress named a Committee of Five: Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston.
- Jefferson wrote the draft; Adams and Franklin suggested edits.
- Congress cut and changed parts of the draft, including a long passage blaming the King for the slave trade.
Answer: Jefferson wrote it; the committee and Congress revised it. Most delegates signed the engrossed copy on August 2, 1776; 56 men signed in all.
Common mistake
The Declaration did not set up the new government. It explains why the colonies separated. The government was set up first by the Articles of Confederation (in force 1781) and then by the Constitution (1789). A quick check: the Declaration has no rules for Congress, courts or elections.