Spotlight: The Declaration of Independence

July 4 marks the 250^th anniversary of the day that the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, the founding document of the United States. Like the Revolutionary War itself, the creation of this written resolution was not a quick process. The Revolution began with the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. Initially many colonists held out hope for reconciliation with Great Britain; however, as tensions between the colonies and the British government increased over the course of the next year, it became increasingly clear that reconciliation was no longer an option.

By June 1776, the Second Continental Congress was setting the course for independence. On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution asserting that the colonies were free and independent states. The members of the Continental Congress recognized the need for a written statement both to unite the 13 colonies and to explain their reasons for independence to the world. On June 11, 1776, Congress appointed a group known as the Committee of Five to create this document. This committee included delegates from across the colonies: Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, and Robert Livingston of New York. 

Jefferson was the primary author of the document, which is divided into 5 parts. Most significantly it set forth the belief that all people have natural rights and that governments exist to protect these rights. As set out in the Preamble, the document declares, “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. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” The document goes on to list numerous grievances against King George III, arguing that he had abused his power. Based on these violations, the Declaration concluded that the colonies were justified in separating from Great Britain and establishing a new, independent nation.

The Committee of Five presented its draft to the Continental Congress on Friday, June 28. Debate and discussion of the resolution occurred from Monday, July 1 to Thursday, July 4. When the Continental Congress officially adopted the final version of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, it marked the birth of a new nation. Independence was not immediate or easy. The armed conflict did not end until the British Army surrendered at Yorktown on October 19, 1781. The war was not officially concluded until the Treaty of Paris was enacted on September 3, 1783, at which point Great Britain finally recognized the United States as an independent nation. 

The ideas encapsulated within the Declaration of Independence have stood the test of time over the past 250 years. During the 1800s, Abraham Lincoln characterized the document as “a rebuke and a stumbling-block to tyranny and oppression.” Today, it continues to inspire people around the world to fight for freedom and equality.