Background to the Declaration

Read about the events that led up to the Declaration of Independence, watch the video, and answer the questions below.

British–Colonial Relations, Before 1763

Before the end of the Seven Years’ War (known in the American colonies as the French and Indian War), most colonists in British North America benefited from the British imperial system, paid little for those benefits, and were largely left alone.

The End of the Seven Years’ War, 1763

Britain’s victory over France and its allies resulted in a massive war debt that the British government had to pay off. To raise revenue, the British government made a series of reforms to colonial administration, enforced tax laws, imposed new trade restrictions, and placed British troops in the American colonies over the next decade.

Lexington and Concord, April 1775

The first shots of what would become the American War of Independence were fired. At the time, no immediate calls for independence from Great Britain were issued. There were mixed views about what the desired outcome of this fighting was: some colonists wanted a quick reconciliation with Great Britain, others favored immediate independence, and most were undecided.

George Washington Appointed Commander of the Continental Army, June 1775

The Second Continental Congress tasked George Washington with creating a disciplined army from the various militias in and around Boston.

Thomas Paine, Common Sense, January 1776

In this pamphlet, Paine made the argument for independence from Great Britain and the creation of a democratic republic. He asserted that British rule was responsible for most problems in colonial society and that the crises during the 1770s could only be solved by colonial independence. Paine’s pamphlet helped sway the opinion of many colonists and became a key factor in the ultimate demand for independence.

Lee Resolution, June 7, 1776

Richard Henry Lee, a delegate from Virginia, introduced a resolution for independence. This was the first formal step taken by the Continental Congress toward independence and laid the groundwork for the Declaration of Independence. Fearing that they would not have enough votes in favor of the resolution, Congress postponed the vote on Lee’s resolution until July 2, 1776, when it was approved.

Committee of Five Appointed, June 11, 1776

Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston, dubbed the Committee of Five, were asked to draft a formal document that explained the reasons for and the principles behind the colonists’ demand for independence.

Declaration of Independence Adopted, July 4, 1776

Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. The Committee of Five took the document to the printer, John Dunlap, who made about 200 copies.

Watch This Video

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Transcript

NARRATOR: On June 21st, 1776, a packet arrived at Franklin's Market Street home. It was from Thomas Jefferson, who with Franklin, John Adams and two other delegates, had been assigned to draft a declaration of independence.

Working in a rented second floor room of a house a few blocks from Franklin's and attended by his enslaved servant, Robert Hemmings, Jefferson completed a first draft. He asked Franklin to suggest such alterations—as your more enlarged view of the subject will dictate. The old editor and writer recognized the elegance of Jefferson's prose and made only a few changes before returning it.

CLAY JENKINSON, Historian: Franklin sits back and ponders it a little, and he makes a few really extraordinary suggestions to Jefferson, and one of them is world class. Jefferson had written, "We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable." And Franklin said, "No, no. We hold these truths to be self-evident. Just as two plus two is four and the sun rises in the morning, it is self-evident that we have a right to revolution."

WALTER ISAACSON, Historian: Franklin is saying we're trying to create a new type of nation in which our rights come from rationality and the consent of the governed, not the dictates or dogma of a religion.

CHRISTOPHER BROWN, Historian: They were doing something very radical and very scary. To say something is self-evident, to say that it's common sense is to say that there's no other way to think about this, that only an irrational person who's not using their mind correctly could contend with this thing, which is in fact really contentious. It's a classic lawyer's trick to say, "We all agree to this thing." Who is we? The “we” is presumptuous.

BERNARD BAILYN, Historian: They were not talking about liberating women in any particular way, or certainly not slaves, but in incremental ways, it grew and grew, because if you talk about liberty for the individual of you and me, you're talking about a greater liberty that can be applied to other people.

NARRATOR: On July 2nd, the Continental Congress unanimously approved the central clause of the declaration proclaiming American independence. Two days later, July 4th, 1776, 12 of the 13 former colonies approved the entire declaration. New York would take a few more days to make up its mind.

“And for the support of this declaration, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

Take Notes

Use the information that you have learned from the events leading to the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and the video to respond to the following: