By: Nate Lux
| Who |
Continental Congress. |
| What |
A document that
announced independence of the colonies from Great Britian. |
| Where |
The United States of America. |
| When |
July 4, 1776. |
| Why |
To establish a free country. |
| How |
It was signed and writen by the
Contintal Congress. |
| A man by the name of
Thomas Jefferson first wrote the Declaration of Independence on June 11
1776. The Declaration was made to show how the United States government
was to work and the freedom and rights of each person. |
| British citizens came to the
this new land which is now called to United States of America to look
for freedom from the British king. While in this new land, they were
not getting what they were looking for. The British parliament
continued to tax the colonists unfairly and this made them angry. After
many years, the colonists were trying to free themselves from this
unfair rule. The colonists went to war with Britain. The British
continued to tax and unfairly treat the colonists. The colonists
decided then to have people come from every colony or one of the 13
states, to discuss ways to get freedom. These people were called the
Continental Congress. Then the red coats (the British army) and
colonists began using gunpowder. Farmers and men with guns and started
having battles with the red coats. During the fighting, the Continental
Congress was drafting a paper, which they called the Declaration of
Independence. The one who wrote most of the paper was Thomas Jefferson.
He, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, R.R. Livingston,
and Roger Sherman were the five men selected to write up the
Declaration. It was to be approved by all of the Continental Congress.
It took awhile for all to sign it, but finally the president of the
Continental Congress, John Adams, signed it. Finally, on July 4th,
1776, it was made official, but fighting with the British still
continued. |
| This is a document that was
written by the colonist of America trying to reach freedom from the
unfair British rule. It states that each person is created the same and
has equal rights. The British were imposing taxes against the colonists
and this cause much anger in the colonies and against the British rule.
While the British were coming up with new was to tax the colonists, the
colonists countered with there own form of leadership. It was called
the Continental Congress. Each state sent two of there own people to
represent their state in the Congress. The congress was sent up to
still be loyal to Britain, but not have these unfair taxes. The
colonists still wanted to be loyal to Britain because that was one of
the reasons they were able to maintain life, but they still did not
like the taxes. Then, on July of 1775, congress sent another request to
the king asking to be fairly treated and still be loyal to him. The
king once again shrugged off the colonist requests, and officially
called the colonists’ acts a rebellion. While British and colonist troops were fighting, the Continental Congress did not give up hope. They continued to work for freedom. Richard Henry Lee introduced to congress this on June 7, 1776, "these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States ..." This really inspired much debate in the congress but in the end, they came to the conclusion of writing a declaration stating the colonists independence. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams were some of the people who wrote and drafted this document. It was finally finished on July 4, 1776. This document gave the colonists freedom from British rule, but did not stop the fighting between the two groups. |
Sources:
"Declaration of Independence." The Charters of Freedom. The Charter of Freedom, n.d. Web. 24 Jan 2011. <http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html>.
"The Declaration of Independence: Cry for Freedom." Social Studies for Kids. Social Studies for Kids, n.d. Web. 24 Jan 2011. <http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/declaration.htm>.
Rakove, Jack N. "Declaration of Independence." World Book Student. World Book, 2011. Web. 27 Jan. 2011.
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