History of Writing of the Declaration of Independence - Essay Example

The Declaration of Independence Introduction The Declaration of Independence was the first formal ment that gave people the freedom of choosing the government of their choice in America. It is supposedly one of the fundamental documents in the foundation of the American government apart from the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. It has a very important legacy in the American History of democracy, gaining a tremendous influence even beyond America (Ourdocuments.gov, 2001). The main reason for writing the Declaration of Independence was to express the grievances of the colonists under the oppression of the British government. According to the Declaration of Independence, the colonists had a right to rebel against and gain autonomy from the British. The colonies’ largest opposition was fueled by the oppressive rules passed in England at that time. Moreover, the colonies did not have any representation in England to air their grievances when the laws were being passed. Through the document, the colonists raised their grievances against King George of England, overthrew his government and declared themselves free and independent states (Achives.gov, 2012). The fact that the Great King of Britain subjected the colonies of the US to repeated injuries, abuses and sufferings made them decide to change their former System of Government. This was also fueled by the fact that the king wanted to establish an absolute tyranny over these States in America. Some of the king’s oppressions included withdrawal of protection, declaration of war to the colonies, and his frequent orders to destroy people’s lives and properties. Moreover, the king altered the governance of the colonies and abolished their laws. The king had also made judges dependent on him alone for their tenure and amount of salaries. He had further cut off the trade operations between the colonies and the outside world. Furthermore, the king never consulted with the legislature of the colonies whenever he wanted to do anything (Loc.gov, 2010). The history of the declaration of independence however dates back to 1776 when it was signed in Philadelphia, soon after the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. This was after urgent international pressures compelled the Congress to issue the declaration. The document reflected various issues concerning immigration, defense, commerce and security. The purpose of the document signed was to declare the causes that propelled the rebellion of the thirteen colonies against British rule. The document also contained details of the abuses and sufferings that the colonies went through during the reign of King George III between 1738 and 1820. However, Thomas Jefferson’s declaration between 1743 and 1826 contained more information rather than just complains of abuse and suffering, in favor of the republican government. It reflected a tight philosophical argument against monarchy. Jefferson’s concept was however considered dangerous and radical in the eighteenth century (Kidder & Oppenheim, 2007). Before the Declaration of Independence, there were armed conflicts between the American colonists and the British rule, which began in April 1775. The aim of the revolutionary war was to facilitate independence to the American colonies from the British Crown that was oppressing their rights. The American colonists were therefore fighting for their rights and desired complete independence from English rule. Some people like Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams were very committed towards the attainment of independence. On the other hand, they were considered radical for taking such a step. They were later involved in the drafting of a formal statement for their intentions (Ourdocuments.gov, 2001). In the course of the year following the revolutionary war (January 1776), things changed as King George III of the British ordered the enlargement of His great army in order to crush and rail against the rebels. This in return strengthened the radicals’ cause leading to the abandonment of the hopes of reconciliation that many American people had. Therefore, the representatives America’s different colonies assembled and appealed to the Supreme Judge of the world concerning their intentions of dissolving any political connections with the British Crown. They were also demanding the right to do their activities as free and independent states (Longley, 1776). By mid-May of the year 1776, eight colonies had voted in favor of independence, North Carolina revolutionary convention being the first one. On June 7, a Continental Congress meeting went on in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania State House, which later became the independence Hall. It was in this meeting where Richard Henry Lee, the Virginia delegate, introduced a motion that aimed at fighting for the colonies’ independence. Lee’s resolutions called for freedom in the united colonies by abolishing all kinds of political connection with the British Crown and the need to become a free and independent nation (Achives.gov, 2012). Lee’s resolution later attracted a heated debate, which led to the rescheduling of the meeting. It was then agreed that the delegates would vote for Lee’s resolution during the next meeting. However, before the adjournment of the meeting, the delegates appointed a five-man committee giving it the task of drafting a formal statement that would show and justify their intentions. This document was later to become the Declaration of Independence. The five-man committee included John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, Robert R. Livingston of New York and Roger Sherman of Connecticut (History.com, 1996). The appointed committee then delegated the mandate of drafting the Declaration to Thomas Jefferson. The main reasons that contributed to the selection of Jefferson as a drafter of the Declaration for Independence were his ideas and smooth, eloquent language. Following this delegation, Jefferson worked secretly and diligently to come up with the document between June 11 and June 28. During this period, Thomas Jefferson relied heavily on the Virginia Declaration of Rights, a document that Thomas Ludwell Lee and George Manson had drafted between the years 1730 and 1778. This document was adopted in 1776 and led Americans to independence. Following this document, Jefferson wrote about three drafts of the Virginia constitution, which were important predecessors of the Declaration of Independence (Loc.gov, 2010). According to Armitage (2008), Thomas Jefferson heavily contributed towards the vision of the Declaration of Independence and wrote a number of drafts concerning the same. He then made a “fair” copy of the draft and labeled it “original rough draught,” a copy that became the foundation of the Declaration for Independence document. In his draft, Jefferson portrayed his big vision of the Declaration of Independence and referred to the declaration as “an instrument pregnant of our own and as the fate of the world” (Armitage, 2008). Most European nations were governed by autocratic monarchies by then and Jefferson held the belief that all men were created equal and that every person has an equal right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as endowed by the creator. Jefferson further argued in his draft document that a government could be considered legitimate if it protected the basic rights for its citizens (the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness). In his argument, Jefferson added that people had a right to change or abolish a government that failed to protect their basic rights. This logic made the colonists revolt against the British rule and declare their rights. Jefferson words were considered eloquent and had a great influence in the society and politics of the United States for the succeeding centuries after the framing of the declaration. His draft was also considered an ideological foundation of polity in the United States (Armitage, 2008). The drafted document got great influence from John Locke (1632-1704), an English philosopher of that time and Jeffersons philosophical arguments provided a good basis for the justification of the expansion of human rights and liberties by the civil rights movement. The final draft was then presented separately to Mr. Adams and Dr. Franklin for corrections before reaching the committee on June 28 (Kidder & Oppenheim, 2007 and Ourdocuments.gov, 2001). The Continental Congress reconvened on July 1 where the delegates agreed and voted for Lees resolutions for Independence. On July 2, twelve of the thirteen colonies in America adopted Lee’s resolution for colonies’ independence. Revision on Jefferson’s draft including the corrections that Mr. Adam and Dr. Franklin made took place on July 3, which extended to the late morning of July 4. The Congress made 39 additional revisions to the draft represented by the committee before its adoption. Apart from the corrections made in the “original rough draught”, deletions and additions were also made at each step. However, the key preamble remained the same. The document remained Jefferson’s efforts and own words although he opposed many alterations made to his drafted document. In the afternoon of the same day of July 4, the Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence (History.com, 1996 & Loc.gov, 2010). Loc.gov (2010) further points out that the Congress ordered the printing of the Declaration of Independence in the evening of July 4. John Dunlap, a Philadelphia printer did the printing of the first copy of the Declaration of Independence, currently referred to as the “Dunlap Broadside.” The printed copies contained two names only – that of the president (John Hancock) and that of the secretary (Charles Thomson) of the congress. On July 5, the president of the Continental Congress began to distribute copies of the Declaration to the military and political leaders in America. These included the state conventions; assemblies; commanding officers of the Continental troops; and the committees of safety. A copy was also attached to the journal of the Continental Congress for July 4. On July 6, John Honcock sent a copy of the “Dunlap Broadside” to Gorge Washington. The copy was later read to the assembled Army of the United States at New York on July 9. The Declaration was then engrossed on July 19. On August 2, the president of the congress, John Hancock, with a bold signature centered below the text, first signed the engrossed copy. Following the custom, the other delegates present also signed the document. Some of the late delegates not present that day did not get space to place their signatures including Robert R. Livingston of New York who was one of the members of the drafting committee. The signatures of the delegates were arranged according to the represented states geographic locations (Ourdocuments.gov, 2001). Over the next two hundred years, the United States was expected to greatly increase in population, area, economic power and commitment towards strengthening its democracy and social complexity. Nevertheless, since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, research has provided different homes for storage of the document ranging from lodgings, individual homes as well as government offices for safety. It has also been carried in an armored vehicle, ships, wagons and Pullman sleeper (Archives.gov2012). The Declaration of Independence, along with the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, are currently preserved together for public display in Washington D.C in the rotunda of the National Archives. In its current storage place, millions of people have viewed it giving them an opportunity to reflect on the actual meaning of democracy. As a nation whose birth was announced by a declaration, the United States has made very big impact on human history (Archives.gov2012). Conclusion As discussed in this paper, the Declaration of Independence was written through Jefferson’s words declaring a type of government that will protect the rights of its citizens and rule with the consent of the governed. The document provides many examples of cruelties of the Great Britain on the colonists by making them lose their consent. The main reasons for the Declaration were to make it known to the whole world that the Colonies in America under British Crown were proclaiming themselves an independent and free nation. The colonies also wanted to express their grievances against King George of England by listing the grievances down as one of the reasons for declaration of independence. Apparently, the Declaration of independence as a document has a big story behind it, and it can only represent some part of the larger story, which is still unfolding. It has been challenged, redefined and strengthened at the same time. References Archives.gov, (2012). Declaration of Independence . Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_history.html Armitage, D. (2008).Declaration of Independence: A Global History: Cambridge, Massachusetts: Havard University Press. History.com, (1996). Declaration of Independence. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/declaration-of-independence Kidder, D.S. & Oppenheim, N. D. (2007). The Intellectual Devotional: American History Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Converse Confidently about Our Nations Past. Emmaus, Pennsylvania:Rodale Inc. Loc.gov, (2010). Declaring Independence: Drafting the Documents. Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/declara/declara3.html Longley, R. (1776). The Declaration of Independence. Retrieved from http://usgovinfo.about.com/bldecind.htm Ourdocuments.gov (2001). Declaration of Independence (1776). Retrieved from http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=2 Read More