The Declaration of Independence, formally adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, announced the United States’ independence from Britain and enumerated to “a candid World” the reasons necessitating this separation. Today the Declaration stands as the best-known document of the American founding, describing not only the U.S. origin, but also its goals and values. The Declaration’s indictments against King George III show a vigorous exercise of freedom of speech and press; further, by using the document to express frustration with rebuffs received to previous petitions to the king, the founders paved the way for later recognition of the right of petition, which is contained within the First Amendment. In June 1776 the Continental Congress appointed John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson to the committee that would write the Declaration.
Jefferson’s fellow members chose him to write the initial draft, largely due to his rhetorical skills. Although Jefferson claimed that he did not refer to any books or pamphlets while drafting the Declaration, the document bears the clear marks of previous charters of civil liberties and limited government, such as the 1628 Petition of Right, the 1689 English Bill of Rights, and the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights.
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