* * * * *

The first official document of the American Republic and one of the most influential in human history, the Declaration expressed the spirit of human freedom and affirmed Man’s universal rights. Jefferson’s goal in drafting it was not, he said, to invent “new ideas” but to compose “an expression of the American mind” in a tone and spirit suitable for the momentous occasion. Stylistically, the Declaration resembled his own preamble to the Virginia constitution and contained an almost identical list of grievances. Its political philosophy, reflecting the Lockean concepts espoused by many intellectuals of the day, was certainly not new. Jefferson himself had touched on the basic points in previous writings, and in essence he echoed George Mason’s “Declaration of Rights,” which some of the Philadelphia newspapers had published early in June. In other words, the Declaration assimilated existing concepts into a concise statement of national doctrine.

Jefferson began the preamble with the oft-quoted and stirring words, “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another....” He then listed a series of “self-evident” truths—that “all men are created equal” and that they are “endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights,” particularly “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Governments, “deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,” are instituted by men to insure these rights. When they fail to do so, it is the “right of the people to alter or to abolish” them and to institute new governments. Men should not carelessly change governments, but should only take such action after a long series of abuses and usurpations lead to “absolute despotism.” Then it becomes their duty to do so. The longest portion of the Declaration is a list of colonial grievances and examples of the King’s tyranny. The final section includes a restatement of Lee’s resolution and a pledge by the signers of their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the cause of independence.

The Declaration first appeared in newspapers on July 9, the day after the official announcement in Philadelphia.

[(larger)]

The New York City Sons of Liberty celebrated independence by pulling down a statue of George III, which they later melted and molded into bullets.

* * * * *

On July 4 all the Colonies except New York voted to adopt the Declaration. Congress ordered it printed and distributed to colonial officials, military units, and the press. John Hancock and Charles Thomson, President and Secretary of Congress respectively, were the only signers of this broadside copy. On July 8, outside the Pennsylvania State House, the document was first read to the public. During the ensuing celebration, people cheered, bells rang out, and soldiers paraded. At other cities, similar celebrations soon took place. Yet many citizens—the Loyalists, or Tories—could not accept independence now that it had been declared any more than previously when it had been merely a concept. Some of them would continue to dream of reconciliation. Others would flee from or be driven out of the country. In addition, another sizable group of citizens remained noncommittal, neither supporting nor opposing independence.