U.S. Declaration of Independence: Difference between revisions

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The '''Declaration of Independence''' is document signed by members of the second continental congress in 1776 who were meeting in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]].  This document formally "dissolved the connection" <ref name=washington_response>George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799: Series 3g Varick Transcripts http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mgw/mgw3g/001/309.jpg</ref> between the [[Thirteen Colonies]] and Great Britain.
The '''Declaration of Independence''' is document signed by members of the second continental congress in 1776 who were meeting in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]].  This document formally "dissolved the connection" <ref name="Washington Response">{{cite web
|title=Washington Response | url=http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mgw/mgw3g/001/309.jpg | accessdate=2007-08-04 }}</ref> between the [[Thirteen Colonies]] and Great Britain.


The "Declaration Committee," which included [[Thomas Jefferson]] of [[Virginia]], [[Roger Sherman]] of [[Connecticut]], [[Benjamin Franklin]] of [[Pennsylvania]], [[Robert R. Livingston]] of [[New York]], and [[John Adams]] of [[Massachusetts]], was appointed by Congress on June 11, 1776, to draft a declaration in anticipation of an expected vote in favor of American independence, which occurred on July 2.<ref name=committee_members>Declaring Independence: Drafting the Documents, http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/declara/declara4.html</ref>
The "Declaration Committee," which included [[Thomas Jefferson]] of [[Virginia]], [[Roger Sherman]] of [[Connecticut]], [[Benjamin Franklin]] of [[Pennsylvania]], [[Robert R. Livingston]] of [[New York]], and [[John Adams]] of [[Massachusetts]], was appointed by Congress on June 11, 1776, to draft a declaration in anticipation of an expected vote in favor of American independence, which occurred on July 2. <ref name="committee members">{{cite web
| url=http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/declara/declara4.html | title=Declaring Independence: Drafting the Documents | accessdate=2007-08-04 }}</ref>


Its primary authorship is credited to [[Thomas Jefferson]], and early versions of the manuscript exist dating to June 1776.<ref name=jefferson_early_draft>Transcription of the Fragment of the Composition Draft of the Declaration of Independence, http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/declara/frag.html</ref>
Its primary authorship is credited to [[Thomas Jefferson]], and early versions of the manuscript exist dating to June 1776.<ref name="Jefferson Early Draft">{{cite web
| url=http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/declara/frag.html
| title=Transcription of the Fragment of the Composition Draft of the Declaration of Independence | accessdate=2007-08-04 }}</ref>


[[Image:Declaration_of_independence_print02.jpg|thumb|400px]]
[[Image:Declaration_of_independence_print02.jpg|thumb|400px]]
==Signers==
==Signers==
There are 56 signatures on the declaration of independence<ref name=signatures>The National Archive Experience  http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/declaration_transcript.html</ref>
There are 56 signatures on the declaration of independence <ref name="Signatures">{{cite web
|url=http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/declaration_transcript.html
| title=Signers of the Declaration | accessdate=2007-08-04 }}</ref>
 


:[[Georgia]]
:[[Georgia]]

Revision as of 21:02, 3 August 2007

The Declaration of Independence is document signed by members of the second continental congress in 1776 who were meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This document formally "dissolved the connection" [1] between the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain.

The "Declaration Committee," which included Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Robert R. Livingston of New York, and John Adams of Massachusetts, was appointed by Congress on June 11, 1776, to draft a declaration in anticipation of an expected vote in favor of American independence, which occurred on July 2. [2]

Its primary authorship is credited to Thomas Jefferson, and early versions of the manuscript exist dating to June 1776.[3]

Declaration of independence print02.jpg

Signers

There are 56 signatures on the declaration of independence [4]


Georgia
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton
North Carolina
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton
Massachusetts
John Hancock
Maryland
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton
Pennsylvania
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Delaware
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean
New York
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark
New Hampshire
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Connecticut
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire
Matthew Thornton

References