1. Declaration of Independence
Main Author: Thomas Jefferson
Written in Philadelphia at Independence Hall
Accepted July 4, 1776

2. Original kept at the National Archives in Washington D.C.

3. One of the most important documents in history

4. 5 Committee Members to write the Declaration
Although Thomas Jefferson was the main author, here is Benjamin Franklin editing a draft by Jefferson.

5. Declaration is divided into 4 Parts:

6. Part 1 - Preamble (Introduction)
1. “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another…”

7. Part 2 - Natural Rights
“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.”
Social Contract
All men really equal?
Unalienable: cannot be taken away

8. Part 3 - British Wrongs/List of Grievances
A huge list of all the wrongs King George III has done to the colonies.
“He has…...”
This is the longest part of the Declaration

9. Part 4 - Declaring Independence/ Dissolving the Bonds
“These united colonies are, and of right, ought to be free and independent states.”
The Declaration was written to tell the WORLD the colonies are now free

10. Signers 56 Men signed the Declaration
People were scared to sign it because it was a “Traitors List”
They would be hunted down by the British
Benjamin Franklin’s quote: “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

11. John Hancock
John Hancock stepped up and was the first to sign his name and said “There now the king can read my name without his spectacles”

12. Changed the purpose of the war
Before the Declaration, colonists were fighting for their rights, such as gaining a representative in Parliament.
After the Declaration, colonists were fighting for their independence.