declaration of independence term paper

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Text of the Declaration of Independence

Note: The source for this transcription is the first printing of the Declaration of Independence, the broadside produced by John Dunlap on the night of July 4, 1776. Nearly every printed or manuscript edition of the Declaration of Independence has slight differences in punctuation, capitalization, and even wording. To find out more about the diverse textual tradition of the Declaration, check out our Which Version is This, and Why Does it Matter? resource.

        WHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.           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—-That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security. Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The History of the present King of Great-Britain is a History of repeated Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct Object the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World.           He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public Good.           He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing Importance, unless suspended in their Operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.            He has refused to pass other Laws for the Accommodation of large Districts of People, unless those People would relinquish the Right of Representation in the Legislature, a Right inestimable to them, and formidable to Tyrants only.           He has called together Legislative Bodies at Places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the Depository of their public Records, for the sole Purpose of fatiguing them into Compliance with his Measures.           He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly Firmness his Invasions on the Rights of the People.           He has refused for a long Time, after such Dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the Dangers of Invasion from without, and Convulsions within.            He has endeavoured to prevent the Population of these States; for that Purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their Migrations hither, and raising the Conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.           He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.           He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the Tenure of their Offices, and the Amount and Payment of their Salaries.           He has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms of Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their Substance.           He has kept among us, in Times of Peace, Standing Armies, without the consent of our Legislatures.           He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.           He has combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:           For quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us:           For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:           For cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World:           For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:           For depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of Trial by Jury:           For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended Offences:           For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an arbitrary Government, and enlarging its Boundaries, so as to render it at once an Example and fit Instrument for introducing the same absolute Rule into these Colonies:           For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:           For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with Power to legislate for us in all Cases whatsoever.           He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.           He has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our Towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People.           He is, at this Time, transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the Works of Death, Desolation, and Tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous Ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized Nation.           He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the Executioners of their Friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.           He has excited domestic Insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes and Conditions.           In every stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble Terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated Injury. A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People.           Nor have we been wanting in Attentions to our British Brethren. We have warned them from Time to Time of Attempts by their Legislature to extend an unwarrantable Jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the Circumstances of our Emigration and Settlement here. We have appealed to their native Justice and Magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the Ties of our common Kindred to disavow these Usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our Connections and Correspondence. They too have been deaf to the Voice of Justice and of Consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the Necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of Mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace, Friends.           We, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, Free and Independent States; that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Connection between them and the State of Great-Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

Signed by Order and in Behalf of the Congress, JOHN HANCOCK, President.

Attest. CHARLES THOMSON, Secretary.

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Declaration of Independence Paper

A number of sites on the Internet claim that the  Declaration of Independence   was written on paper made from  hemp . As far as we know, this is not true.

The finished document signed by the delegates to the Continental Congress was engrossed on parchment, which is made from animal skin. Thomas Jefferson's original "Rough Draft of the Declaration" is now in the Jefferson Papers collection at the Library of Congress. According to sources at the Library of Congress, analysis by paper conservators has determined that the paper is mostly likely Dutch in origin. While hemp was commonly used to make paper in Southern Europe during this time, the Dutch were much more likely to use flax or linen rags.

Further Sources

• Library of Congress. Thomas Jefferson Papers.  Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence.
• National Archives. Charters of Freedom: The Declaration of Independence.  http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/declaration.html
• Look for further sources in the Thomas Jefferson Portal.

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How the Declaration of Independence Was Printed—and Protected

By: Jesse Greenspan

Updated: June 26, 2023 | Original: June 28, 2022

The 1776 “engrossed” copy of the Declaration of Independence —sometimes referred to as the “official” or “signed parchment” version—stands on display in the rotunda of the National Archives Museum , providing inspiration to those who, like Abraham Lincoln , view it as “ a rebuke and a stumbling-block …to tyranny and oppression.”

Sealed in a gold-plated titanium frame , with bulletproof glass and cutting-edge safeguards against light and moisture, it remains under constant surveillance by armed guards and security cameras. Every night, it is lowered into a vault (along with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights , considered the other essential founding documents of the United States). Arguably no other texts in the world receive the same level of protection.

Yet this has been a relatively newfound development. Prior to arriving at the National Archives, the “signed parchment” Declaration of Independence survived numerous trials and tribulations, including war, fire, casual mistreatment, insects and the ravages of time. Other early versions of the declaration, some similarly dating back to 1776, have also persisted to the present day and can fetch big money at auction .

How the Declaration of Independence Was Printed

When the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, the manuscript was immediately rushed to the nearby shop of John Dunlap , who printed an estimated 200 poster-sized copies that night. These so-called Dunlap broadsides were then distributed throughout the 13 former colonies, including to General George Washington and his troops, and across the Atlantic as well. By July 6, newspapers had likewise begun publishing the declaration in their pages.

“As the text was printed and proclaimed in public readings across the colonies, communities tore down royal symbols and celebrated with toasts and huzzahs,” says Emily Sneff , a doctoral student of history at William & Mary, who is writing her dissertation on the Declaration of Independence.

But although the Dunlap broadside constituted the first public version of the declaration, it used simple type and didn’t include the names of the congressional delegates who had approved it. For a more official, formal version, the Continental Congress ordered on July 19 that the declaration be “fairly engrossed on parchment”—meaning it was to be painstakingly and ornately handwritten on animal skin—and signed by each delegate.

The scribe for this job is believed to have been Timothy Matlack, an assistant to the secretary of the Congress, who completed the task by August 2. Starting with John Hancock , 56 delegates, including a couple who opposed independence and others who missed the vote, then put their signatures on the document.

Though birthed in Philadelphia, the “signed parchment” declaration didn’t remain there for long . Under British threat, the Continental Congress evacuated to Baltimore in December 1776, taking the parchment along with it in a wagon. From there, assuming it continued traveling with Congress, the declaration briefly returned to Philadelphia and then jumped from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to York, Pennsylvania, to Philadelphia again, to Princeton, New Jersey, to Annapolis, Maryland, to Trenton, New Jersey, and to New York City.

Following a fourth stop in Philly from 1790 to 1800, the Declaration of Independence was taken by boat to Washington, D.C., the newly-built capital, where it has remained for all but a few years ever since. As the National Archives points out, it was probably rolled and unrolled many times during its years on the road, thereby starting a process in which it gradually became more creased, stained, ripped and faded. There’s even a mysterious faint handprint on the parchment’s lower left side.

Under the custody of the State Department, the parchment was housed in various government buildings until the closing stages of the War of 1812 , when British soldiers marched on Washington , D.C. Just prior to the city going up in flames, State Department clerk Stephen Pleasonton , who later claimed to have acted against the advice of the secretary of war, stuffed the declaration and other important documents in linen bags and whisked them off to Leesburg, Virginia. There, they remained safe at a private dwelling until returning to D.C. the following month.

The ”signed parchment” declaration again bounced around various D.C. buildings, most notably the old Patent Office (now the National Portrait Gallery ), where it was exposed to “high light levels and extreme temperature and humidity fluctuations,” says Amy Lubick, senior conservator at the National Archives. She adds that “it was displayed at different times both vertically and horizontally.”

For a few months in 1876, the declaration was exhibited at Independence Hall in Philadelphia as part of the Centennial Exposition , then fortuitously moved to the State Department library in D.C. just months prior to a fire that ripped through the Patent Office.

Though considered flameproof, the declaration’s new living quarters contained an open fireplace and allowed for smoking, according to the National Archives. By this time, the document was really showing its age, with one writer calling it “old and yellow.” “All of the movements and attempts to display it over the decades took a significant toll on the ink,” Sneff says.

Because of concern over its condition, the State Department took down the Declaration of Independence in the 1890s and locked it away in a steel safe. But it was returned to public display by the 1920s after being transferred to the Library of Congress.

In December 1941, just days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , the declaration was rushed by train to Fort Knox in Kentucky, where it stayed until 1944. While there, two Harvard-affiliated conservators initiated the first documented attempt to mend it . Additional restoration work would take place in 2003.

Back at the Library of Congress, much effort went into protecting the declaration from light and air pollution. Yet humidity remained a problem, and protein-eating beetles were found in the vicinity. So, in 1952, under military escort, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution , and the Bill of Rights were moved to their current home at the National Archives.

“We are enshrining these documents for future ages,” President Harry S. Truman said at the time. “This magnificent hall has been constructed to exhibit them, and the vault beneath, that we have built to protect them, is as safe from destruction as anything that the wit of modern man can devise.”

Other Versions of the Declaration of Independence

Reverence for the “signed parchment” version has only grown over time. “Americans tend to treat the signed parchment as the Declaration of Independence,” Sneff says.

As she points out, however, it was originally used only for internal government purposes. “If we focus [solely] on the signed parchment or the act of signing,” Sneff says, “we miss out on…how the declaration reached people outside of Congress, how they responded, and the text’s influence on other movements for independence or equality.”

The many other surviving versions include a fragment of the earliest known draft of the declaration; the so-called original rough draft ; and a representation of the so-called “ fair copy ” that was ultimately presented to the Continental Congress.

In addition, 26 copies of the Dunlap broadside are known to still exist, and there are at least nine remaining broadsides printed in 1777 by Mary Katharine Goddard . Authorized by Congress after fleeing to Baltimore, the Goddard broadside was the first public version to list the names of the signers, and, Sneff explains, “demonstrates Congress's commitment to independence even after the British forced them to evacuate Philadelphia.”

Though not directly affiliated with Congress, local broadsides were likewise printed in various towns and cities during the Revolutionary War era.

Meanwhile, in 1823, William J. Stone produced another parchment version, having been authorized by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams to create a facsimile of the famous engrossed copy (which by then had become worn). Particularly iconic, Stone’s work is the image of the declaration most often found in history textbooks.

Later, Stone’s friend Peter Force was commissioned to make one more version, for which he used Stone’s copperplate to print out copies on translucent tracing paper. Fewer than 40 original Stone copies presently remain, along with perhaps a couple hundred Force copies.

All of these versions slightly differ from each other, and, as Sneff says, each “has a story to tell.”

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Lesson Plan The Declaration of Independence: From Rough Draft to Proclamation

This lesson focuses on the drafting of the Declaration of Independence in June of 1776 in Philadelphia. Students will analyze an unidentified historical document and draw conclusions about what this document was for, who created it, and why. After the document is identified as Thomas Jefferson’s “original Rough draught” of the Declaration of Independence, students will compare its text to that of the final document adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776 and discuss the significance of differences in wording.

Students will be able to:

• Examine documents as primary sources;
• Analyze and compare drafts;
• Describe the significance of changes to the document’s text.

Time Required

One to two classes

Lesson Preparation

This lesson is meant to be an introduction to primary source analysis, but is best used with students who have a basic understanding of the events leading up to July 4, 1776.

Have the requisite materials ready before the activity:

• Thomas Jefferson’s “original Rough draught” of the Declaration of Independence , page one (PDF, 2.07 MB) (one copy per student)
• First printed version of the Declaration of Independence (PDF, 2.80 MB) (one copy per student)
• Declaration of Independence: Making Comparisons handout (PDF, 30 KB) (one copy per student)
• Teacher’s copy of Declaration of Independence: Making Comparisons handout (PDF, 34 KB)

Brief background for the lesson:

In anticipation of a vote for independence, the Continental Congress appointed a committee to draft a declaration of independence in June of 1776 in Philadelphia behind a veil of congressionally imposed secrecy. At the committee’s request, Thomas Jefferson drafted the declaration. Revised first by committee members and then by the Congress, Jefferson’s “original Rough draught” was the foundation of the Declaration of Independence adopted by Congress on the morning of July 4, 1776. ( Note: Do not share this information with students until after lesson step 3. )

Before leading students through the exploration process, teachers should make themselves familiar with the details of the drafting of the Declaration of Independence by reading the following Library of Congress resources:

• Declaring Independence: Drafting the Documents
• Primary Documents in American History: Declaration of Independence

Lesson Procedure

• What is a document? (e.g., a record of information)
• What are examples of common documents? (e.g., letter, diploma, passport, driver’s license)
• Where does your eye go first?
• How would you describe what you’re seeing? What do you notice about the physical condition?
• Which words or phrases can you read? Has the document been altered in any way?
• Are there any indications (e.g., names, dates) of ownership or time period?
• Who do you think wrote this?
• What do you think this document is about? What words or phrases give clues?
• What about language, its tone and style? Writing style?
• Do you think this is a public or private document? What might have been the author’s purpose in writing this?
• Who might have been the intended readers?
• Do you think this is the complete document or are pages missing?
• What surprises you about what you’re seeing?
• What do you want to know about this document?
• What was happening during this time period?
• What importance does this document have?
• Who might have made the changes to the original draft?
• Where and how might debates and compromises have taken place regarding such changes?
• Ask students how they could determine changes made to this document during the drafting process. Most students will quickly understand that comparing the two documents will reveal the changes.
• Model the comparative analysis process using the Declaration of Independence: Making Comparisons handout. Use as an example the changes on page one. (See step five below for the process.)
• Ask students to first identify unfamiliar vocabulary.
• Encourage students to analyze and compare the wording of the two versions by marking and making notes directly on the Declaration of Independence: Making Comparisons handout.
• What do you think is the most significant difference(s) in wording between Jefferson’s draft and the adopted Declaration of Independence?
• Why do you think this change(s) was made?
• How does this difference(s) in wording change your understanding of the text’s meaning, if at all?
• Group Conclusions: Working with the entire class, discuss their responses, page by page, to the questions above. Conclude by emphasizing that those who created (and signed) the Declaration of Independence understood the potential significance of every word in the document to their own lives, the new Nation, and the world.
• Debate the changes made to the Declaration of Independence and how the “original Rough draught” versus the new wording might have set a course for future events and/or continues to impact our lives today.

Lesson Evaluation

• Teacher observation of collaborative work.
• Teacher observation of critical thinking.
• Evaluate the Declaration of Independence: Making Comparisons handout and written responses.

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Declaration of Independence: Thomas Paine, Common Sense and Thomas Jefferson Term Paper

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Introduction

Response to questions, works cited.

Certain individuals stand out clearly in American history. This is due to the significant contributions that they made towards making the United States of America we know today. Among these is the third president of America Thomas Jefferson. Being a political philosopher, Jefferson stepped up and took the task of drafting the Declaration of Independence document with a lot of precision that he remains a popular figure amongst many citizens.

One of his popular statements is, “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” (Jefferson).

On the other side, Thomas Paine stands out due to his work in influencing Americans to push for independence. He wrote Common Sense , a masterpiece that fuelled the desire to stand up and claim what was rightfully Americans’, that is, independence. Common Sense spread like bushfire, taking only few months to have over 120,000 copies of it in the market. During this short time, many people read this book and concurred with its contents. Up to date, no single work has sold like Common Sense.

In writing common Sense, Thomas Paine uses extensive imagery and argues his points out placidly such that rebellion appears justifiable. The first imagery is comparing America’s continued stay under Britain rule of law to babies feeding on milk.

The argument that America had thrived well under colonial rule did not make sense to Paine, making him argue that simply because a child is thriving under milk does not imply that she or he will die once fed on meat. Paine argues that America could prevail on her own because most of her profits benefited the colonialists. According to Paine, a time had come for America to undergo through the weaning process, leave ‘milk’ and chew ‘meat’.

Simply stated, a time had come for America to claim independence. Again, imagery comes in when Paine compares Americans to, “a man who is attached to a prostitute is unfitted to choose or judge of a wife, so any prepossession in favour of a rotten constitution of government will disable us from discerning a good one” (Paine 106). The argument is that England’s constitution was unfit for Americans given its complexity.

Paine creates scenery of a group of people living in an isolated island without governance. He posits that,

In this state of natural liberty, society will be their first thought. A thousand motives will excite them thereto; the strength of one man is so unequal to his wants, and his mind so unfitted for perpetual solitude, that he is soon obliged to seek assistance and relief of another, who in his turn requires the same (Paine 97).

The issue here is that these people will ultimately form government based on laws that they make for themselves meaning that the law will represent them.

This imagery attacks Monarchy directly with Paine arguing that, “The first King should have been appointed either by lot, by election, or by usurpation” (Paine 119). Kings to follow would also be elected or follow these processes and this eliminates monarchy. If anything, monarchy and ruling through kings sprouts from sin. Paine goes ahead to quote the bible and show how Jews angered God by asking for a king.

Based on the evidence given in literature, it is clear that Paine did not overstate the conditions that prevailed in most English colonies before declaration of independence. It is natural for a reader to think that these conditions were overstated to achieve a certain theme; especially given the kind of a person that Paine was. Nevertheless, after scrutinizing the events, it becomes clear that change was needed immediately.

On top of the list is the call for Americans to pay taxes that would oversee the funding of Britain’s defence. This was tantamount to funding an enemy. Not at any time that Americans felt free under the Britain rule so in effect, they were ‘enemies’. There was no freewill on the part of Americans and hearing that they would fund the strengthening of the Britain was bad enough to fuel rebellion.

There were different acts that worsened the situation. The first act was, “Administration of Justice Act.” This called for trial of British soldiers in Britain; hence, justice perversion. The “Quartering Act” called for Americans to quarter for colonial soldiers. That was unpalatable.

To cap it all, “Massachusetts Government Act” took freedom from Americans meaning that they could not meet freely in towns. These conditions were inhuman considering that all these would come through increased taxes. Representation was very poor and it hurts to give up money that cannot be accounted for. Paine did not exaggerate these conditions.

Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine proposed similar form of government, Republicanism. Republicanism conformed to the ambitions and dreams of these two people. The quest to uphold human rights and freedom was so much in the hearts of these two men and only republicanism would offer a reprieve to their cries. Paine posits that,

The nearer any government approaches to a Republic, the less business there is for a king. For ’tis the republican and not the monarchical part of the Constitution of England which Englishmen glory in, viz. the liberty of choosing an House of Commons from out of their own body–and it is easy to see that when republican virtues fail, slavery ensue (Paine 116).

Monarchy was a thorn in Paine’s flesh; however, republicanism would offer an antidote. Naturally, people react to most burning issues in their lives and most probably, they will come up with mitigating measures to counter their problems.

Abolishment of monarchy and fostering human rights freedom topped the agenda of both Paine and Jefferson. Jefferson noted that, “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” (Jefferson). This statement explains the reason why Jefferson chose republican form of governance; these human rights can only be established, and thrive better under republicanism.

Jefferson made one statements that explains the self-evident truths; that is, “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” (Jefferson).

According to this statement, there are two truths. One, men are equal and that is the will, of God. The other truth compounds rights that come by the virtue of creation. God did not create people to be subjected to intimidation and colonialism; but to have freedom, live life to the fullest and pursue deeply held desires that come in form of dreams.

By writing this, Jefferson made the issue of liberation clear. Americans, by the virtue of being created by the same God who created Britons, had the right to be free. Unfortunately, they only possessed this right but never practised it. Nevertheless, Jefferson indicates that nothing was lost and Americans could still rise above intimidation and deception to claim what is rightfully theirs. Actually, this was Jefferson’s, “Americans, arise and shine, claim what is yours and make use of it; that is, freedom and liberty.

Jefferson voiced a number of concerns and grievances directing them to the King of Great Britain while addressing the readers of the document. They come under two categories, those focusing on administration/governance, and those affecting people directly. Concerning administration, Jefferson used “he has” referring to the King of Great Britain. For instance,

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation (Jefferson).

Concerning the second category, he used “for” to describe what the King had done to people at personal level. For example, “For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas” (Jefferson).

Things have changed so much that anyone trying to look rebellious is rebuked severely. People tend to be strong when fighting a common fight anticipating the same results.

During the times of Jefferson, people were oppressed by Britain rule and this was the only enemy they needed top beat to enjoy their freedom. Over the years, the United States of America has developed to unequalled levels. This vibrancy seems to have thrown people into complacency and they will do anything to ensure that the peaceful environment is sustained, bad policies notwithstanding.

It appears that common enemies and battles are over, and people are so engrossed in pursuing the most elusive, almost unattainable “American Dream”, that they have forgotten to address biting issues in society. In contemporary America, Paine and Jefferson’s words remain that; words. They are irrelevant because most probably, they were meant to bring independence and that is gone.

American history would be utterly incomplete without mentioning Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson. These two contributed largely towards independence of this most powerful country in the planet. Paine used his persuasive skills, put them in writings and let Americans see what they could not see in the natural world.

He made them realize that it was self-deception to imagine that America was doing better under the colonial rule than how she would do as a sovereign country. On the other hand, Thomas Jefferson gave his all in writing the declaration for independence in a way that painted rebellion as something that the Great Britain deserved from her colonies. Jefferson draws a lot from nature, quoting the will of God for every man to be free and enjoy the rights that come by merit of creation.

He gave detailed accounts why America could never continue staying under the savage rule of the Britain. Regrettably, the likes of Jefferson are gone not to come back. Probably, times have been so good for Americans to know that growth is continual and America has not reached the climax yet.

Jefferson, Thomas. “ The Declaration of Independence .” The Want, Will, and Hopes of The People. 1776. Web.

Paine, Thomas. “Common Sense.” Republican Government. New Rochelle, N.Y: Thomas Paine National Historical Association, 1925.

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IvyPanda. (2019, February 7). Declaration of Independence: Thomas Paine, Common Sense and Thomas Jefferson. https://ivypanda.com/essays/thomas-paine-common-sense-and-thomas-jefferson-declaration-of-independence/

"Declaration of Independence: Thomas Paine, Common Sense and Thomas Jefferson." IvyPanda , 7 Feb. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/thomas-paine-common-sense-and-thomas-jefferson-declaration-of-independence/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'Declaration of Independence: Thomas Paine, Common Sense and Thomas Jefferson'. 7 February.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Declaration of Independence: Thomas Paine, Common Sense and Thomas Jefferson." February 7, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/thomas-paine-common-sense-and-thomas-jefferson-declaration-of-independence/.

1. IvyPanda . "Declaration of Independence: Thomas Paine, Common Sense and Thomas Jefferson." February 7, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/thomas-paine-common-sense-and-thomas-jefferson-declaration-of-independence/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Declaration of Independence: Thomas Paine, Common Sense and Thomas Jefferson." February 7, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/thomas-paine-common-sense-and-thomas-jefferson-declaration-of-independence/.

Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Declaring freedom: declaration of independence and other documents of national history on view through july 15, 2024.

June 20, 2024

By Michael Morand

The Beinecke Library marks the 248th anniversary of the nation’s founding with a display of vital documents of United States history from Yale Library special collections, includng the original printing of the Declaration of Independence, one of 26 known surviving copies of about 200 made by John Dunlap in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776.

About the first printing of the declaration of independence on july 4, 1776, other documents declaring freedom on view at beinecke.

Other essential documents on view include key texts published by Black Americans in Connecticut and nearby in the early decades of the new republic, including:

• A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Ventur e, a Native of Africa: But Resident above Sixty Years in the United States of America / Related by Himself,  New London, Connecticut, 1798; the narrative of a man who purchased his freedom in Connecticut in 1765.
• The Blind African Slave, or, Memoirs of Boyrereau Brinch, Nick-named Jeffrey Brace , St. Albans, Vermont, 1810; memoir of an enslaved man who won his freedom through service in the Revolutionary War.
• Life of William Grimes , the Runaway Slave, Written by Himself,  New York, New York, 1825, and New Haven, Connecticut, 1855; first book-length narrative written by a person who escaped from enslavement in the U.S. 
• Walker’s Appeal … To the Coloured Citizens of the World , but in Particular, and Very Expressly, to Those of the United States of America, Written in Boston, State of Massachusetts, September 28, 1829 , by David Walker, third and last edition, Boston, Massachusetts, 1830; an early publication of Black liberation in the U.S.

Through July 7, visitors can also see numerous documents related to Frederick Douglass in the building-wide exhibition  Douglass, Baldwin, Harrington: The Collections of Walter O. Evans at Beinecke Library . Items on view in the show include:

• Frederick Douglass, “Speech of Mr. Douglass at a Mass Meeting Fanuel [sic] Hall for Abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia,” February 4, 1842, undated typescript copy; “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” July 5, 1852, excerpts, undated typescript copy. Walter O. Evans Collection of Frederick Douglass and Douglass Family Papers.
• Douglass, Oration, Delivered in Corinthian Hall, Rochester, Rochester: Lee, Mann, & Co., 1852. Slavery Pamphlets Collection. 

Exhibition hours

The Dunlap Broadside will be on view on the library’s mezzanine from Thursday, June 20, through Monday, July 15, 2024. Located at 121 Wall Street, the library’s exhibition hall is free and open to the public daily. See  Hours and other details  for more information on daily hours. Please note: the library is closed on Thursday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day. Visitors are also welcome to view reproductions of the Declaration and other documents on the north ground floor windows of the library (toward Grove Street).  This outdoor display can be viewed 24 hours a day  through mid-July 2024. 

Public readings on July 5, 2024, 4pm

All are welcome to attend special public readings of the Declaration of Independence and Frederick Douglass’s oration on Friday, July 5, at 4pm, on the library mezzanine.  For more information, visit the detailed calendar listing online . Those unable to attend are welcome to enjoy video readings of the Declaration of Independence and Douglass’s Oration, originally recorded in 2020, on the  Beinecke Library YouTube channel . You can also enjoy a 2020  video of the1848 Seneca Falls Woman’s Rights Convention Declaration  read by U.S. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro.

Declaration of Independence

1848 Woman’s Rights Convention

Douglass’s 1852 oration

Life of William Grimes

More to see nearby in New Haven related to the Declaration of Independence

American history is alive and accessible throughout New Haven. Visitors are also encouraged to see other markers of U.S. history related to the Declaration of Independence located near the Beinecke Library. 

Immediately north of the library, the  Grove Street Cemetery , 227 Grove Street, is the burial site of Roger Sherman, a signatory of the Declaration and one of the Committee of Five charged with drafting and presenting the Declaration. It is also the final resting place of William Grimes and other notable New Haveners. The first chartered burial ground in the U.S., the cemetery is free and open to the public daily, 9am to 4pm. On Thursday, July 4, at 9am, the General David Humphreys Branch of the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution will honor all 56 signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and local veterans of the Revolutionary War at their 73rd annual Independence Day ceremony. All are welcome to attend.

A few blocks south of the Beinecke Library, the  Yale University Art Gallery , 1111 Chapel Street, holds numerous works of art related to the founding of the nation. The works on view to the public include John Trumbull’s The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 , a depiction of the Committee of Five presenting the document to John Hancock. Visit the art gallery’s website for more information on hours. The gallery is free and open to all.

College Term Paper

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Declaration of Independence Document

What are the core values in this document? There are several values dictated by the Declaration of Independence. The first primary value gives the people unalienable rights. The creator gave these rights hence one cannot change them. They include the right to life, right to pursue happiness and liberty. The citizens have the power to organize the government by either changing or abolishing the government. According to the constitution, people can form a new administration that would ensure the security and satisfaction of the people. The citizens should also be able to choose the kind of governance they would like in power and abolish one in which causes absolute unhappiness and suffering to the people.

Does the U.S. History up to 1877 Embody the Progress of these Values or a Betrayal of Them? The United States history shows the integration and the support of the values dictated in the Declaration of Independence. Explain. Several factors show how the history of the United States integrates the values in the Declaration of Independence. The first factor is the election of George Washington in 1789 as the first president of the United States. During his presidency, Washington upheld several values such as obeying the right to life and liberty after the 1794 rebellion where he summoned the rebels in a court to solve the issue instead of ordering war on them. The years after 1789 respected the value of people forming the government of their choice through the election of the presidents who existed since Washington’s presidency such as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson among others. Another factor is the support for anti-slavery shown by most politicians after 1800. The politicians supported the idea of transporting back the slaves to a free nation such as Liberia. The anti-slavery supporters argued that the slaves were human beings who had a right to liberty. They also argued that people should let the slaves pursue happiness by sending them back to Africa where they would settle comfortably.

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Declaration of Independence: A Transcription. (2017). National Archives. Retrieved 

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America's Historical Documents

Declaration of Independence

Official signed copy of the Declaration of Independence, August 2, 1776; Miscellaneous Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789; Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789, Record Group 360; National Archives.

Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It was engrossed on parchment and on August 2, 1776, delegates began signing it.

Read more at America's Founding Documents...

Watch CBS News

How did Juneteenth get its name? Here's the story behind the holiday's title

By Emily Mae Czachor

June 19, 2024 / 7:00 AM EDT / CBS News

June 19 marks the third consecutive year of Juneteenth as a federally recognized United States holiday. Also known as  Freedom Day , Emancipation Day or America's second Independence Day, Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. after the Civil War. 

Many Americans have celebrated it annually for more than a century, even though the holiday was not officially added to the national calendar until 2021. As the  Black Lives Matter movement gained renewed power across the country and abroad the previous year with the police killings of Black Americans like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor , public calls grew louder for the federal government to acknowledge emancipation as the critical turning point it was in U.S. history. Advocates sought, again, for leaders to codify the Juneteenth holiday into law, decades after communities began to push for broader recognition of Juneteenth as an emblem of unity, power and resilience in the wake of the police beating of Rodney King in 1991.

Federal recognition came in 2021. A bill to solidify Juneteenth National Independence Day as a legal public holiday passed almost unanimously through both chambers of Congress before being signed by President Biden on June 18. At a White House ceremony held for the occasion, Mr. Biden said: "All Americans can feel the power of this day, and learn from our history." It was the first time a national holiday was established in the U.S. since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was set to honor the late civil rights leader's birthday in 1983.

Juneteenth became a legal federal holiday in the U.S. on the eve of its earliest nationwide observance on June 19, 2021. It is observed and celebrated each year on that same date. 

The origins of Juneteenth

The name, Juneteenth, is a portmanteau, combining June and nineteenth. Its origins date back to June 19, 1865 , when the last group of people enslaved in the southern U.S. were informed of their freedom under the Emancipation Proclamation. President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier, on Jan. 1, 1863, declaring that everyone held as a slave was, and would continue to be, free. 

The proclamation took effect as the country neared its second year of the Civil War and technically applied to enslaved people in Confederate states. However, it could not actually be implemented in Confederate territory, and the war would not end in victory for the Union Army until much later, in the spring of 1865. In Texas, the westernmost state controlled by the Confederacy, news of freedom and the tenets of the Emancipation Proclamation arrived that summer. On June 19, thousands of Union soldiers reached Galveston Bay, along the northeastern coast of Texas in the Gulf of Mexico, and announced that all enslaved people in the state were freed by executive order. 

At the time, more than 250,000 Black people were being held as slaves in Texas alone, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which writes in a description of the holiday that the "historical legacy of Juneteenth shows the value of never giving up hope in uncertain times." Once the Emancipation Proclamation laid its roots in Texas, those freed from slavery declared the day of its arrival "Juneteenth" in homage to the date when it finally happened. 

Although the Emancipation Proclamation set the stage, critically, for an end to slavery throughout the U.S., it was the 13th Amendment to the Constitution that actually did it. The amendment's passage through Congress and across Lincoln's desk began in January 1865. It was ratified in December of that year, abolishing slavery nationwide.

How to celebrate Juneteenth

Observing Juneteenth each year on June 19 does memorialize that specific day in Galveston in 1865, but it is also symbolic. Many regard the holiday as a joyful anniversary of independence and an opportunity to remember the country's foundation on centuries of slavery.

Historically, communities in different parts of the U.S. have celebrated Emancipation Day on different dates, a tradition that nodded to the fact that news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached people enslaved by the Confederacy at different times after the Civil War. In Florida, for example, advocates in 2021 pushed for the state to recognize and observe Emancipation Day on May 20, because that was the date in 1865 when news of Lincoln's executive decree reached enslaved people there. Washington, D.C., has in the past observed a city-wide Emancipation Day on April 16.

Juneteenth celebrations vary. Public festivities often include parades, parties, concerts, educational workshops and other cultural events centered on art and cuisine. For some, commemorating Juneteenth is mainly about tapping into the spirit of the holiday. Koritha Mitchell, an English professor at Ohio State University who celebrated Juneteenth growing up in a small town outside of Houston, told CBS News in 2021 that, for her, the day revolved around family and "creating community and connection."  

Opal Lee, the retired teacher and counselor whose activism played a huge role in Juneteenth becoming a federally recognized holiday, recalled joyful memories of the annual celebrations in the Texas town where she lived as a child.

"When I was a little one and we lived in Marshall, Texas, we'd go to the fairground," she said in a  CBS News interview  in 2022. "There'd be games and food and food and food. I'm here to tell ya it was like Christmas!"

Lee, now 97, became known as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth" for her famous trek from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., to ultimately deliver 1.5 million signatures to Congress advocating for a law to make the date a federal holiday. She shared her thoughts on the essence of Juneteenth in that 2022 interview. 

"People think it's a Black thing when it's not. It's not a Texas thing. It's not that," Lee said. "Juneteenth means freedom, and I mean for everybody!"

Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She covers breaking news, often focusing on crime and extreme weather. Emily Mae has previously written for outlets including the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.

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