1. The Declaration of Independence
Coach Kuntz
United States History

2. Congress Votes for Independence
-Common Sense sold many colonists on the idea of independence.
-In June 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia rose in Congress to introduce a resolution in favor of independence:
“Resolved, That these United Colonies are and of right ought to be , free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”
- Richard Henry Lee, Resolution at the Second Continental Congress, June 7, 1776

3. Making the Break
-Congress had to decide whether or not to vote to approve Richard Henry Lee’s resolution.
-They had a difficult decision to make. If they approved the resolution, and if they fell into British hands, they would be hanged as traitors.
-A traitor is a person who betrays his or her country.
-Congress appointed a five person committee to draw up a formal declaration of Independence.
-On the committee were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman.
-The committee asked Thomas Jefferson, a delegate from Virginia, to write the document.

4. Signing the Document
-On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted that the 13 colonies were “free and independent States”.
-Over the next two days, Congress edited the declaration presented by Thomas Jefferson.
-On July 4, 1776, congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.
-John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration first.
-Congress ordered the document to be printed and distributed throughout the colonies.

5. What’s in the Declaration
The Declaration of Independence consists of a preamble, or an introduction, followed by three main parts:
-The first section of the Declaration stresses the idea of natural rights, or rights that belong to all people from birth.
-According to the Declaration, governments are formed to protect peoples natural rights and liberties and that governments only exist if they have the “consent of the governed”.

6. What’s in the Declaration (Cont.)
-The second part of the Declaration lists the wrongs that led the Americans to break away from Britain.
-The last part of the Declaration announces that the colonies are the United States of America and all political ties with Britain have been cut.