The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America

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The unanimous declaration of the thirteen united States of America, called the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America, is a political writing in which the thirteen British colonies of North America seceded from Britain on July 4, 1776 , to form the United States of America.

This text follows the consequences of the English Revolution of 1688, because, as a result of the abuses, the settlers felt that they had the right and the duty to revolt against the British monarchy which imposed enormous taxes on the colonies.

Since then, the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America, July 4 has become the National Day of the United States or Independence Day.

This national holiday and this date are on the UNESCO Memory of the World List.

History

The Declaration of Independence is a big step in the history of Anglo-American relations. Indeed, after crises between the metropolis and the colonies, because of the famous taxes, the text proclaims the birth of a new nation and represents a revolutionary act.

It was indeed ridiculous that a country so small that Britain governs and imposes laws on a gigantic country like America.

On June 12, 1776, Virginia acquired a Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Second Continental Congress, composed of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies gathered in Philadelphia, decided to draft the Declaration of Independence. The project is entrusted to a committee of five representatives :

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John Adams

American statesman, first vice president of the United States between 1789 and 1797, then second president of the Union between 1797 and 1801. He is considered as one of the founding fathers of the United States.

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Roger Sherman

American lawyer and politician who signed the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of the United States of America. He was also representative of the At-large Congressional District for Connecticut from 1789 to 1791 and then Senator from the same state between 1791 and 1793.

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Benjamin Franklin

A printer, publisher, writer, naturalist, inventor and American politician. He is involved in the drafting of the United States Declaration of Independence, of which he is a signatory, making him one of the founding fathers of the United States.

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Robert Livingston

One of the members of the Commission of Five, appointed by the Second Continental Congress on June 11, 1776, to draft the text of the American Declaration of Independence. He was then secretary of the foreign affairs from 1781 to 1783, then candidate for the post of governor of the State of New York, in 1798, and ambassador of the United States in France from 1801 to 1804: it is him who negotiated the Sale from Louisiana.

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Thomas Jefferson

A US statesman, third president of the United States, in office from 1801 to 1809. He was also secretary of state of the United States between 1790 and 1793 and vice president from 1797 to 1801.

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It is Thomas Jefferson who is drafting, so he is the main author of the text. Although at the time it was intended to suggest that the Declaration was a collective work, research by historians and jurists has shown that Jefferson was the main editor. He finished his work on June 21, 1776 and submitted it to the committee which only made a few changes.

The statement was further corrected during the Congress debates, for example, the passages on trafficking and slavery were removed, so as not to discontent the southern regions.

The final document was written on hemp paper. It was approved and signed on July 4, 1776 by 56 delegates gathered at Independence Hall (or Pennsylvania State House is the building in Philadelphia where the Declaration of Independence was signed and adopted the US Constitution.) Independence Hall is ranked on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979.

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The Declaration was then sent to the printing press for distribution.

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The central idea of the text is freedom: for the first time, the ideas of the Enlightenment philosophers are implemented. It is no longer a question of the collective freedoms of previous eras but of individual liberties which are proclaimed loud and clear. The Declaration is therefore a universal text, which posits rights: "All men are created equal".

But the text also has its limits, understandable in the context of the eighteenth century. Indeed, if the equality is proclaimed, it is only valid for the white men, because the slavery is not abolished, although the first version (written by Thomas Jefferson) was in favor of this decision.
The Declaration of Independence is universal. It addresses the opinion of humanity and states that all men are created equal.

The Declaration of Independence had a great impact in North America. The text served as propaganda to American revolutionaries during the war of independence. It is part of the founding texts of the American nation, alongside the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. July 4 marks the true birth certificate of the United States.

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