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The Declaration of Independence is significant because with the stroke of a pen, the Declaration was created and declared America's independence from Britain.

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Thomas Jefferson would go down in history as the main author of the document.

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Many people in America were ready to declare independence and secede from Britain, so the delegates took up the issue of independence, and on July 4, 1776.

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What was the purpose of the Declaration of Independence?

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What was the purpose of the Declaration of Independence?

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The Continental Congress convened to address and communicate the colonist's grievances with King George III.

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The purpose of the Declaration was to declare our independence and to explain to the world our reasons for declaring independence. Americans were upset with unfair taxation, British occupancy, and the tyranny of King George III.

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The Stamp Act is passed. This act required colonists to buy a stamp for all printed materials, infuriating colonists.

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Today we know that the words “all men are created equal” include everyone: women, men, children, and every race, group, and ability. But in 1776, people’s ideas were different.

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Tensions rose due to British occupation amid other things, resulting in the Boston Massacre.

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The Second Continental Congress began another round of meetings in Philadelphia. They drafted the Olive Branch Petition, which was a final attempt at peace by the colonists and which the King rejected.

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After years of unrest, fighting broke out in 1775 at Lexington and Concord. The delegates met in the Continental Congress in the hot summer of 1776 to discuss an American reaction to the beginnings of the American Revolution.

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The patriots disguised themselves as Native Americans and dumped over 300 tea chests into the Boston harbor in what would go down in history as the Boston Tea Party.

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Jefferson wrote that if a government does not protect the rights of citizens, people have the right to form a new government. This idea was not new.

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Congress asked Thomas Jefferson and others to write a declaration of independence. They needed a document to declare why the colonies had to become independent of Britain.

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The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to discuss a response to the Intolerable Acts. They decided to develop a unified response and boycott British goods.

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British Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, which taxed things like glass, lead, and tea, further enraging the colonists.

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Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence.

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In this document, Jefferson wrote what many Americans believed about their rights. Jefferson wrote that people have the right to live, the right to be free, and the right to seek happiness.

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The Declaration is still important because it says the American people believe in equal rights for all.