Authored in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence was the formal document written to inform the British monarch, King George III, that the Thirteen Colonies no longer wished to be a part of Great Britain. Signed by representatives of each colony, this document inspired a revolution that created the United States of America. Jefferson and the signers wanted Britain to know that government should get its power from the people, not the people existing for the benefit of the government. Jefferson declared that when the balance of power had shifted solely to the government, then the People had the right to take it back. He asserted the idea that “all men are created equal by their Creator” and that men had the natural right to
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These collective ideas shared by intellectuals, writers, and scientists inspired Jefferson and the other American leaders to forge a new way to conduct government and share the responsibility of government with the people. Great Britain had controlled the colonies since the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1620 and by 1776, the colonists decided that they were done with being an offshoot of the British Empire. What started with a few armed skirmishes against the British in 1775, turned into a major war after the Declaration was issued. Once the Continental Congress had convened in Philadelphia in 1776 and decided to sever ties with Great Britain, the Congress tasked a committee of five men including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams, to write a document outlining the reasons why the break was justified. Thomas Jefferson wrote the basic document with input and editing from the other men, and presented it to the Congress where it was adopted on July 4, 1776. Jefferson was a lawyer from Virginia who had authored several other essays and was known for his writing
These collective ideas shared by intellectuals, writers, and scientists inspired Jefferson and the other American leaders to forge a new way to conduct government and share the responsibility of government with the people. Great Britain had controlled the colonies since the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1620 and by 1776, the colonists decided that they were done with being an offshoot of the British Empire. What started with a few armed skirmishes against the British in 1775, turned into a major war after the Declaration was issued. Once the Continental Congress had convened in Philadelphia in 1776 and decided to sever ties with Great Britain, the Congress tasked a committee of five men including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams, to write a document outlining the reasons why the break was justified. Thomas Jefferson wrote the basic document with input and editing from the other men, and presented it to the Congress where it was adopted on July 4, 1776. Jefferson was a lawyer from Virginia who had authored several other essays and was known for his writing