What Is The Declaration of Independence?

Many people are often asking, what is The Declaration of Independence? The declaration of independence is actually a sworn statement which was adopted by the Continental Congress which announced that the 13 American colonies were regarded as independent states and no longer a part of the British Colonies. It was written on July 4, 1776 and it still serves as the mark of independence. The one who has put forth the draft of the original declaration was John Adams and it was during that same year that it was formed as a formal inevitable declaration. There was a committee which was assembled in order to create the formal declaration which was ready to be approved by the congress. The committee which was created drafted the formal and final declaration. The congress also functioned as the voting party for the declaration. John Adams actually persuaded the group to nominate Thomas Jefferson to create the original draft of the declaration. The document then became the formal explanation as to why the congress voted to declare independence from the Britain on July 2 of the same year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. America's Independence Day is then celebrated on July 4 after the wording of the declaration.

During the finalization of the Declaration of Independence, the congress issued it to be initially printed and published as broadside that is widely disseminated to the public. The most famous version of the text is actually a signed copy displayed in the National Archives which is found in Washington D.C. Researchers have actually disputed the actual date of signing of the text. Most of these researchers and historians have concluded that the signing was nearly after a month. They have claimed the signing was done during August 2, 1776 and not July 4. They also claimed that the manuscript used for the signing was lost and the other copies were created from its original text.

The interpretation of the Declaration has been analyzed by several scholarly groups. The Declaration actually justified that true independence of the United States was achieved by listing colonial disputes against King George the 3rd and by asserting several rights including the right of revolution against foreign bodies. Having changed its original form in announcing independence, the text was initially ignored right after the American Revolution and the stature which has entirely changed to cater to human rights. Some of the statements grew stature due to their evident meaning such as all men are created equal and that every American is allowed to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

The political implications which were setting the stage of the official Declaration were actually questioned during its time. It was on June 11, 1776 that the congress appointed a group of called the Committee of Five consisting of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin and Robert Livingston. The Committee of Five actually drafted the declaration. The first sentence written by the Committee of Five asserted the matter of Natural Law which is the ability of any person to assume political independence and acknowledge that the grounds for independence must be reasonable. When any course of human event would be evident, it becomes quite necessary for a person to dissolve any political bands which would assimilate them to any other group and to assume among the powers of the earth. The next section covers the Laws of Nature and of that mankind requires that they should declare the causes and allow them for any form of separation. Another section covers the famous preamble and the principles behind the Declaration. It also covers the right of revolution and that people have certain rights and the mankind requires that their government would never violate any of their rights. Upon violation, people would reserve the right to alter as well as to abolish the government.

Websites For Learning All About Declaration of Independence Historical Documents

  1. Declaration of Independence
  2. The Declaration of Independence
  3. The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America
  4. Declaration of Independence Today
  5. History and Transcript of the Declaration of Independence
  6. The U.S. Declaration of Independence