21 pages 42 minutes read

The Declaration of Independence

Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 1776

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Summary and Study Guide

Summary: “The Declaration of Independence”

The Declaration of Independence is one of the founding documents of the United States of America. The text was written primarily by Thomas Jefferson in June of 1776 after the Second Continental Congress appointed him the chair of the Committee of Five (the others were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman), a group designated to draft a statement declaring the American colonies independent from Great Britain. Jefferson based his draft on existing documents such as George Mason’s draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and Enlightenment-era texts by authors such as John Locke. Jefferson would later say he was not striving for originality but to express the American mind. The Continental Congress edited Jefferson’s draft and signed the Declaration on July 4, 1776. John Dunlap printed copies of the Declaration that same night. Today, the original document is among the most important in American history and is on display in the rotunda of the National Archives Museum in Washington, DC.

This study guide makes use of the transcription of that version produced by the National Archives.

The Declaration opens with a preamble explaining why the document was created: It is necessary to provide reasons when one nation severs its political ties to another.

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