HISTORY'S CURRENTS
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

The Declaration of Independence was approved and signed on July 4th, a date celebrated by Americans as Independence Day. John Adams indicated that the day should be celebrated with flags, parades, and fireworks across the land. Ironically, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1824.

In the early summer of 1776, the American Revolution was over a year old. It had begun around Boston, Massachusetts, in April 1775, as a protest against British attempts to control trade and government in the area. The thirteen colonies had formed a weak central alliance, the Second Continental Congress, to direct the war effort and negotiate with Britain concerning the colonies' grievances. By late May 1776, it was apparent that Britain would not negotiate with the colonies and that the colonies had to submit to British authority or pursue an alternate course of action.

On June 7, 1776, Virginia delegate Richard H. Lee introduced a resolution into Congress calling for American independence. After a month of debate all thirteen colonies approved the resolution on July 2nd. Congress appointed a committee of five to draft a document reflecting the resolution.

The committee consisted of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. The committee quickly delegated Jefferson to draft the document. After Jefferson's draft Franklin and Adams tweaked the document and sent it on to Congress. During the debate over the document, Congress made several changes, including taking out Jefferson's condemnation of the African slave trade. Jefferson complained to Franklin that, "They are mangling my prose."

The document contains three major parts. The first part, the one we are most familiar with, contains the intellectual justification for our separation from Britain. This section includes Jefferson's immortal phrase, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The second section, and most lengthy, lists the American grievances against Britain, including the forced quartering of troops, the repression of local governments, and the suppression of trade. The final part includes the statement that we are now an independent nation and are at war with Britain.

The Declaration of Independence was approved and signed on July 4th, a date celebrated by Americans as Independence Day. John Adams indicated that the day should be celebrated with flags, parades, and fireworks across the land. Ironically, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1824.

History's currents, or current history? You decide!